
Qass 

Book 4 

(bpyiightN 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: 



CHILDREN 
OF GOD 

A Summary of Catholic 
Doctrine For Busy People 




PREACHING MADE EASIER 

" The Mechanism of Discourses is a textbook, not a series of 
essays : it is presented by the publisher in the simplest possible 
form; but it is packed full of wise and practical instruction, and 
it is well worth the attention of all whose duty it is to preach 
the -Gospel. A very few hours given at intervals to the careful 
study of these pages will almost surely suffice to raise the stand- 
ard of the reader's eloquence. We recommend the book heartily/' 
— Catholic World. 

" The Mechanism of Discourses . . . abounds in practical 
suggestions, pertinent to the preaching of our time and country." 

— Ave Maria. 

" The Mechanism of Discourses by Rev. M. Moeslein, C.P., is 
a helpful book for preachers. . . . No one will lay down the 
book without feeling better equipped for the sacred duty of 
preaching. Especially worthy of attention is the treatment of the 
subjects of 'Balanced Personality/ 'Taste/ ' Scholarliness/ 
' True Popularity/ and ' Egotism in the Pulpit/ " — America. 

The Mechanism of Discourses is "a book which any priest 
might be tempted to read now and again, as he would chat with 
a friendly master of pulpit eloquence who could encourage and 
instruct. The author's theory of rhetoric is, of course, not novel, 
but there is novelty in the treatment. . . ." — Messenger of the 
Sacred Heart. 

There are many books on the art of composing sermons ; but 
The Mechanism of Discourses is different from them all. It 
explains the structural parts of discourses and shows how to put 
them together. 

Have you a brother or friend who is studying for the priest- 
hood? Send him a copy of Mechanism of Discourses. A careful 
study of it will make preaching easier for him. 

The price of the book is $1.25, postage prepaid. Published by 

D. B. HANSEN & SONS, 

2J N. Franklin St., 

Chicago, 111. 






/ 



HILDREN OF GOD 



A SUMMARY OF CATHOLIC 
DOCTRINE FOR BUSY PEOPLE 



BY 



MARK MOESLEIN, C. P. 



3 4* 








THE C. WILDERMANN CO. 

33 BARCLAY ST. 
N. Y. 



1920 






Permissu Superiorum 

JUSTINUS CAREY, C.P., 

Praep. Prov. 



Nihil obstat 

THEO. NOONAN, 

Censor deputatus. 



Imprimatur 

PAULUS JOSEPH, 

Episcopus Corporis Christi. 
Die 6 Jan., 1920. 



Copyright 1920, by 
Rev. Mark Moeslein, GP. 

APR 28 7 1 

©CI.A614340 



DEDICATED 

TO THE SISTERS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT AS 
A TOKEN OF APPRECIATION OF THEIR NOBLE 
LABOR TO ENABLE LARGER NUMBERS OF INDIAN 
AND COLORED CHILDREN TO KNOW AND LOVE THE 
CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

"The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few. 
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that He send laborers 
into His harvest/' 



Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross, 1920 
Corpus Christi, Texas 



PREFACE 

The modern world drifted away from belief in God 
as the Creator of all things and as the Supreme Judge 
to Whom man must account for his very thoughts. 
The farther it drifted, the more debased it became. 
It is still drifting. 

During the second half of the nineteenth century, 
men of famed name strove mightily to popularize both 
the denial of man's coming from God and faith in 
man's evolution from apes. They succeeded only too 
well, not in proving the forefathers of mankind to 
have been monkeys, but in popularizing belief in the 
degrading theory. 

Scholars the world over proved more and more the 
utter folly of this poisonous superstition of unbelief; 
but vast multitudes relished the deadly poison and 
drank of it freely; for it deadens the sense of personal 
responsibility to God, the Eternal Judge, and opens 
wide the gates to the demands of riotous living. The 
wretched theory is a most suitable foundation for the 
materialism of a wealth-worshipping age, for God- 
lessness in education and for the worse Godlessness 
in shaping individual and national conduct. 

The moral and spiritual harm wrought by this de- 
basing theory and its superstructure of materialism, 
reveals itself in the low standards of conduct and in 



vi PREFACE 

the conscienceless struggle for the material good 
things of life. Applying the grinding theory of the 
survival of the fittest to the concrete conditions of 
life, shows clearly whither mankind drifts, once it 
divorces itself from belief in the Personal God and 
His supernatural governance. Brutal selfishness ban- 
ishes the charity of Christ. 

How can it be otherwise ? If the differences between 
man and brutes are of degree only and not of kind, 
why expect from man anything of a higher order 
than what is looked for in beasts of the field? If apes 
are the source whence mankind came, why urge men to 
strive for the better things of God's supernatural 
world ? Streams do not rise higher than their source. 

Unfortunately only too many fancy that they believe 
in the ape-origin of man, and live accordingly. Hence, 
the sublime Catholic doctrines of the Fatherhood of 
God and of man's supernatural adoptive divine son- 
ship, cannot be proclaimed too often or too forcibly. 

The purpose of these pages is to unfold Catholic 
teaching about man's coming from God and his 
destiny to be a member of God's family of adopted 
children both in time and in eternity. Hence, the 
main title : " Children of God." These elevating doc- 
trines of the Catholic Church cannot be stated with 
even elementary fullness, without at the same time 
offering brief explanations of many of the more 
salient beliefs of the same Church. Hence, the sec- 
ondary title : " A Summary of Catholic Doctrine for 
Busy People." 



PREFACE vii 

The evidence in support of the Catholic beliefs 
treated is barely suggested. To have attempted more, 
would have made the publication too bulky for Busy 
People who in the beginning, may be more intent on 
learning what is taught than weighing the reasons for 
the teaching. Persons to whom the teaching appeals 
can easily find the evidence in many learnedly written 
Catholic books which are readily available. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I Religion 1 

II God 4 

III The Blessed Trinity .... 7 

IV Creation 8 

V The Supernatural . . . . 11 

VI Angels 15 

VII Devils 17 

VIII Man as a Creature of God ... 20 

IX Man as an Adopted Child of God . 24 

X The Trial 28 

XI Man's Fall 31 

XII Man's Punishment . . . . 33 

XIII Original Sin 36 

XIV The Promise of Redemption . . 39 
XV The Redeemer 42 

XVI Representation 46 

XVII Ratification 49 

XVIII Man's Restoration .... 52 

XIX The Fruits of the Redemption . . 55 

XX Good Works and Merit ... 72 

XXI The Church 84 

XXII Ministrations of the Church . . 99 

XXIII The Sacraments . . . . .110 

XXIV Characteristics of the Church . 133 
XXV The Attributes of the Church . . 144 

XXVI The Human in the Church . . 157 

XXVII The Holy Ghost and the Church . 161 

XXVIII The Communion of Saints . . . 172 

XXIX Life After Death 177 

XXX Rule of Life for Adopted Children 

of God 188 

XXXI Is the Church a Failure? . . . 214 

Conclusion 225 



CHAPTER I 

RELIGION 

Religion is the habit of mind and heart which leads 
man to worship God as the Most Perfect Being, to 
pray to Him as the Giver of all good gifts, to thank 
Him for His many and great favors, to obey Him as 
the Supreme Lord and Master of all, and to look to 
Him as the Just Judge Who will render to every man 
according to his works, either eternal reward or eternal 
punishment. 

Religion, therefore, is the spiritual force which 
maintains man in the right attitude towards his Crea- 
tor. It is a soul-force like unto honesty, decency, 
loyalty, and other moral virtues. It is in a particular 
manner like unto the frame of mind and will of truly 
good men who are sincerely and consistently intent on 
giving to others what is in any manner rightfully due 
them. Hence, religion is the theory and practice of 
giving to God the best " square deal " of which man is 
capable. Life in accord with the requirements of the 
sublime doctrine of the Fatherhood of God and of 
the peace-begetting doctrine of the brotherhood of 
man, is the perfection of religion. 

Religion is of two kinds, natural and supernatural. 
Natural religion is such as man is able to plan and 

1 



2 CHILDREN OF GOD 

practice by simply following the guidance of his na- 
tive intelligence. Supernatural religion is God-given 
or God-revealed, religion. Assuming that God in- 
structed mankind how to practice religion, nothing 
can be plainer than that man is bound in conscience to 
practice such God-given religion and to refrain from 
all that may be at variance with what God has seen fit 
to reveal. 

The Christian world is agreed that God gave re- 
vealed religion to mankind. Jew and Christian look 
upon the Bible as a divinely inspired record of God's 
revelation. The religious literatures of the most 
ancient races assume such a revelation and are built 
thereon. The many points of similarity of these litera- 
tures with the Bible, justify the inference that they 
drew from a common source. Scholars of note claim 
this source to have been the Primitive Divine Revela- 
tion made during the infancy of the human race. 

The revelation of God-given religion was pro- 
gressive. The stages of the progression may be de- 
scribed as: first, Primitive; then, Patriarchal; later, 
Mosaic; next, the Prophetic; and last, the Christian 
revelation or the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These phases 
of progress were not antagonistic to one another; but 
the earlier were preparations for the later; for 
throughout it is the one and same God Who revealed 
all : " God, Who, at sundry times and in divers man- 
ners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the pro- 
phets, last of all in these days hath spoken to us 
by His Son, Whom He hath appointed heir of all 



RELIGION 3 

things, by Whom He also made the world." Heb. 

I. 1-2. 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the final stage of God's 
revelation to mankind for the days of pilgrimage in 
mortal flesh : " But though we, or an angel from 
heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we 
have preached to you, let him be anathema. . . . For 
I give you to understand, brethren, that the gospel 
which was preached by me is not according to man. 
For neither did I receive it of man, nor did I learn 
it; but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. ,, Gal. i. 8: 
n-12. No substitutes for Christ's Gospel can save 
mankind. 

No one who neglects religion, can be truly honor- 
able; for he is faithless to the chief and most sacred 
of all duties. No one Who is disloyal to his family 
or country, can possibly be decent and respectable, 
however good he may be otherwise. Much less can 
any one be decent, respectable, and honorable, who is 
disloyal to God. Neglect of religion is disloyalty to 
God. 

To ignore the religion given by God, seals the fate 
of the guilty one : "... Go ye into the whole world, 
and preach the gospel to every creature. He that be- 
lieveth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that 
believeth not, shall be condemned." Mark XVI. 15-16. 






CHAPTER II 

GOD 

The word " God " is the English name for the Self- 
Existent Spirit Whose being, intelligence, will, and 
attributes, are infinitely perfect; Who, of His own 
free choice and not driven thereto by any kind of 
necessity, created the universe and all that it contains; 
Who in like manner formed the laws and forces which 
control the universe in all its phases; and Who by 
His providence constantly cares for the creatures made 
by Him. 

Hence, God was not created, made, produced or 
evolved out of anything. He always was as He is 
now and always shall be. All things are dependent 
on Him, but He is not dependent on anything. All 
intelligent beings are accountable to Him; but He 
is accountable to no one. Though God is everywhere, 
He is not part of anything, nor is He in any way 
the soul of the universe or of any part of it. Being 
the Most Perfect Spirit, God is not tied down to the 
conditions of matter, such as time, space, motion, and 
the like. Wherefore, God is necessarily super-natu- 
ral, that is, He is entirely above and apart from all 
nature, as the maker is apart from and above the work 
of his hands. 

4 



GOD 5 

Our limitations compel us to speak of God as we 
speak of men and even of lesser creatures. This is 
due to the fact that human thought and speech con- 
stantly involve the imagery of the fancy. Because 
intelligent believers realize fully that God has not any 
kind of bodily form, they readily catch the figurative 
meaning of such speech. Nothing is farther from their 
thoughts than believing God to be a magnified man. 
If they could speak a spirit-language, they would not 
use such expressions; but they are men; therefore, not- 
withstanding their belief in the spirit-nature of the 
Personal God, they must speak of Him in their own 
language. Jas. J. Fox writes : " The Bible, especially 
the Old Testament, abounds in anthropomorphic ex- 
pressions. Almost all the activities of organic life are 
ascribed to the Almighty. He speaks, breathes, sees, 
hears; He walks in the garden; He sits in the heavens, 
and the earth is His footstool. It must, however, be 
noticed that Bible locutions of this kind ascribe human 
characteristics to God only in a vague, indefinite way. 
He is never positively declared to have a body or a 
nature the same as man's; and human defects and vices 
are never even figuratively attributed to Him. The 
metaphorical, symbolical character of this language is 
usually obvious. The all-seeing eye signifies God's 
omniscience; the everlasting arms, His omnipotence; 
His sword, the chastisements of sinners; when He is 
said to have repented of having made man, we have 
an extremely forcible expression conveying His abhor- 
rence of sin. The justification of this language is 



6 CHILDREN OF GOD 

found in the fact that truth can be conveyed to men 
only through the medium of human ideas and thoughts, 
and is so to be expressed only in language suited to 
their comprehension. The limitations of our concep- 
tual capacity oblige us to represent God to ourselves 
in ideas that have been originally drawn from our 
knowledge of self and the objective world. The Scrip- 
tures themselves amply warn us against the mistake 
of interpreting their figurative language in too literal 
a sense. They teach us that God is spiritual, omni- 
scient, omnipresent, ineffable. Insistence upon literal 
interpretation of the metaphorical led to the error of 
the Anthropomorphites." Cath. Ency. Vol. I., page 

559- 



CHAPTER III 



THE BLESSED TRINITY 



Whilst there can be one God only, yet in God there 
are Three Divine Persons. They are : the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Ghost. The how of this Trinity 
in Unity and Unity in Trinity, we do not understand; 
but the fact itself we know through revelation. Hu- 
man intelligence did not, neither could it, discover even 
the fact itself; but God made it known. " And Jesus 
coming, spoke to them, saying : All power is given to 
me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ye 
all nations ; baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching 
them to observe all things whatsoever I have com- 
manded you : and behold I am with you all days, even 
to the consummation of the world." Matth. XXVIII. 
18-20. In his first letter St. John wrote : " And there 
are three who give testimony in heaven, the Father, 
the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are 
one." V. 7. 

If one reject the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, the 
New Testament becomes simply unintelligible. Faith 
in the Trinity of Persons in One God, is the very soul 
of the Christian religion. Whoever rejects it, can at 
best be a Christian only in name. 

7 



CHAPTER IV 

CREATION 

Universe is the collective name for all beings which 
are not God. All such beings are creatures. They are 
so called, because they were either created or made by 
God Who is the Creator of all things visible and in- 
visible. 

Creatures are divided into three classes: material 
beings, purely spiritual beings, and the two combined in 
one. Man is this combination; for he is partly spirit- 
ual and partly material. He is the point of contact 
between the visible and invisible departments of the 
universe. Purely spiritual beings are named angels. 
Material beings and man we know from daily experi- 
ence; but our more definite and more reliable knowl- 
edge about angels is derived from God's revelation. 

Time began with creation. Before that was eter- 
nity and God was the only being : " In the beginning 
God created heaven and earth. ,, Gen. I. I. We do 
not know how far back this beginning dates. It may 
be billions of years ago since the first beings were cre- 
ated. God alone can tell us when this occurred. So 
far He has not told us. Until He does see fit to re- 
veal it, all fixing of dates for creation, or for different 
phases of it, is play of scholarly fancy. The disagree- 

8 



CREATION 9 

ments of scientists about the age of this earth of ours, 
are the clearest evidence that the data for fixing the 
age of creation are indefinite and most uncertain. The 
inquiry itself is nothing better than scientific curiosity. 

Creatures which were not made out of any available 
material were created. This is creation proper. It is 
sometimes described as immediate creation. Creatures 
produced out of material previously provided by the 
Creator, were made. This is sometimes named medi- 
ate creation. The first creature being or beings were 
certainly created; for there was nothing out of which 
to make them. Not all creatures, however, are the 
product of immediate creation; for the Bible tells us 
that many things were simply made by the Creator; 
among these man's body is mentioned: "And the 
Lord formed man of the slime of the earth; and 
breathed into his face the breath of life, and man 
became a living soul. ,, Gen. II. 7. Neither science 
nor revelation teaches us the extent of either immediate 
or mediate creation. Neither does one or the other tell 
us definitely whether or not mediate creation was per- 
formed by way of God's simple almighty fiat or by 
natural forces created by Him. For our spiritual bet- 
terment it is not necessary or even particularly useful 
that we should know. Satisfying scientific curiosity is 
not necessary for salvation. 

Theories of unbelieving evolution, like that of Dar- 
win, are not built on verified facts and still less on 
scientific principles. Until now, not so much as one 
thoroughly authenticated fact of specific evolution has 



10 CHILDREN OF GOD 

been produced. Variations within species are many 
and pronounced; but transitions from species to species 
are unknown to genuine science. Hence, it is not 
surprising that scholars are becoming more and more 
emphatic in their rejection of Darwinism. 

Believers are not required to reject evolution in its 
entirety. What they do insist on, is that God is the 
author of the forces which do the evolving, assuming 
that there was and is such a process as evolution. In 
a very faint manner the Bible appears to suggest some 
kind of evolution: "God also said: Let the waters 
bring forth the creeping creature having life, and the 
fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament 
of heaven. . . . Let the earth bring forth the living 
creature in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and 
beasts of the earth, according to their kinds. And it 
was done." Gen. I. 20-24. But this is far from say- 
ing that the Bible teaches any one of the many evolu- 
tionary hypotheses. The Sacred Writings were not 
meant to be scientific treatises. They were published 
for the spiritual guidance of the people at large, and 
not for scholars only. 

Catholics firmly believe that all spiritual beings, the 
souls of men included, are the product of immediate 
creation. They are not made or in any manner evolved 
out of matter, neither can they be; for the chasm be- 
tween matter and spirit is impassable. So in like man- 
ner do Catholics believe that man's body was made 
by the Creator and that it was not evolved from lower 
forms. 



CHAPTER V 

THE SUPERNATURAL 

The word supernatural occurs often in Catholic 
books of instruction. Non-Catholics frequently use 
it in a sense different from the meaning which Catho- 
lics attach to it Hence, the propriety of mentioning 
some items which will enable inquirers to get at the 
Catholic meaning. 

Its primal meaning refers to God's distinctive sphere 
of being, existence, and operations. God is necessarily 
above nature, that is supernatural. The creature what- 
ever its kind or degree, is necessarily natural. God can 
stoop to the natural and do for it what it cannot pos- 
sibly do for itself; but the natural cannot by its own 
unaided effort, rise above its own sphere. God, how- 
ever, can lift it up to His own distinctive sphere; for 
He alone can admit creatures to greater and higher 
degrees of created participation in the supernatural 
conditions of His divine being, existence, and opera- 
tions. 

Hence, the word supernatural is much used by 
Catholics to describe divine favors which are in no 
wise due to nature or within its native reach. The 
word designates especially those divine favors by which 

11 



12 CHILDREN OF GOD 

men and angels are in some finite way lifted into a 
sphere of being, existence, activities, and destiny, 
higher than is due to their nature. This sphere itself 
is a created sharing in God's own distinctive existence, 
life, and operation. St. Peter thus wrote the inspired 
description of the supernatural: "Grace to you and 
peace be accomplished in the knowledge of God and 
of Christ Jesus our Lord : as all things of His divine 
power which appertain to life and godliness, are given 
us, through the knowledge of Him Who hath called us 
by His own proper glory and virtue. By Whom He 
hath given us most great and precious promises : that 
by these you may be made partakers of the divine 
nature : flying the corruption of that concupiscence 
which is in the world." II. Pet. I. 2-4. The Vulgate 
has it: " Made consorts of the divine nature." 

It is natural for men and angels to know God in 
accordance with their native ways of knowing all 
else which comes within the ordinary sphere of their 
knowledge; but it is above their nature or supernatural 
for them to know God face to face after the manner 
of God's knowing Himself. It is natural for man to 
be a creature of God; but it is supernatural for Him 
to be an adopted child of God, destined to intimate 
companionship with Him in heaven. It is natural for 
man to find his happiness in God by the native exercise 
of his intelligence and will; but it is supernatural to 
find the greater happiness in God through revealed re- 
ligion here on earth and in heaven through the beatific 
vision. It is natural to be just a good man; but it is 



THE SUPERNATURAL 13 

supernatural to be a good man sanctified by the grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The pouring of water and the speaking of the ap- 
pointed words in conferring the Sacrament of Bap- 
tism, are a very natural operation; but the being born 
spiritually thereby and that into the family of God's 
adopted children, is supernatural. The bread of the 
Sacrifice of the Mass and the speaking the words of 
Consecration, are indeed very natural facts; but it is 
wonderfully supernatural that a rightfully ordained 
priest's speaking these words over the bread, meaning 
to do what Christ ordained, should change the sub- 
stance of the bread into the Living Body of Christ. It 
is a very natural performance for the sinner to tell his 
sins with sorrow of heart to a fellow man; but it is 
supernatural that the sins thus told should be forgiven 
through an authorized priest's speaking the words of 
pardon or absolution. These natural operations are 
sacramental symbols or signs; but the grace of adop- 
tion, the forgiveness of sins, and the changing of the 
substance of the bread and wine into the Body and 
Blood of Christ Jesus, etc., are supernatural effects of 
which God alone is the author. The natural facts are 
the visible and audible elements which God uses as 
ministerial agencies. 

So in like manner are supernatural all those devia- 
tions from the normal course of nature, of which God 
alone can be the author. In this sense, giving sight to 
one born blind by a mere touch or command, restoring 
to life one certainly dead, foretelling future free hu- 



14 CHILDREN OF GOD 

man conduct, and so many other incidents recorded in 
the Bible, are supernatural; for no creature nor force 
of nature can either produce them in the way in which 
they were produced, or produce them at all. In the 
Catholic understanding of the supernatural, there is 
nothing at variance with God's use of creature instru- 
mentalities in the production of supernatural results. 

The supernatural, therefore, does not mean the 
merely super-sensible, still less the abnormal and un- 
natural. It is not even necessarily miraculous. Mira- 
cles are in some way supernatural : but not everything 
supernatural is miraculous. God is supernatural; but 
He is not a miracle. The intelligent creature's admis- 
sion to created participation in what is distinctively 
God's own is supernatural. The name is also applied 
to what is over and above God's ordinary way of 
providing for His creatures. Thus, giving sight to 
the man born blind was the bestowal of a gift very 
natural in itself, but the manner of imparting it was 
above the powers of nature. This form of the super- 
natural is at times named the preternatural. Hence, 
Catholics not unfrequently grade the works of God 
into natural, preternatural, and supernatural. 



CHAPTER VI 

ANGELS 

Chief among the creatures of God are the beings 
called angels. Orderly gradation among creatures 
seems to call for their existence. This line of 
thought, however, is not necessarily conclusive. It 
furnishes probabilities; but it does not prove the 
actual existence of the angelic world; for as the Lord 
was not obliged to create at all, so neither was He 
compelled to observe any theories of gradation which 
may appeal to human intelligence. His own divine 
choice was the sole factor which determined what 
beings were to be created and which ones were to 
remain among the possibilities. — Hence, our more re- 
liable information about angels comes to us from 
divine revelation and through scientific deductions 
from revealed truths. 

Angels are entirely spiritual beings without the 
admixture of anything material. Like unto man, they 
are endowed with intelligence, free will, and power; 
but their endowments are much greater than man's. 
Though they are so exalted, they are creatures. They 
are not lesser gods. By nature they are no more 
supernatural than man is; but, like man they were 
raised by God to a supernatural sphere of existence, 

IS 



16 CHILDREN OF GOD 

life, activity, and destiny. They did not lift them- 
selves thereto; for this they could not do, any more 
than man can. God elevated them. Their elevation 
or uplift was a grace or gratuitous favor, freely be- 
stowed by God. He could have withheld this favor 
without depriving them of anything due them by 
nature. 

Angels were created to • glorify God by the sub- 
limity of their being and by the intensity of their 
superior worship, to minister to the Lord in the gov- 
ernance of the universe, to be guardians of men, and 
to be eternally happy with God through the beatific 
vision. 

The number of angels is exceedingly great, as may 
be gathered from the Scriptures. From the same 
source of information one may infer that they are 
graded into nine choirs, as follows: Angels, Arch- 
angels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, 
Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. Apparently they 
are graded according to the character of their min- 
istry; but wherein they differ from one another, has 
not been clearly revealed. 



CHAPTER VII 

DEVILS 

Continued possession of God's supernatural gifts 
must in some way be merited or deserved by intelli- 
gent creatures. Hence, for men and angels a period 
of trial or probation. They must deserve admission 
to life everlasting by truly virtuous conduct under 
trial. Such are the general lines of God's plans as 
made known to us by Himself through divine revela- 
tion. He might have adopted a different plan, had 
He willed to do so. 

The precise nature of the trial to which angels 
were subjected has not been definitely made known; 
but from divers passages of the Bible, it is legitimate 
to infer that the transgression of the offending angels 
was one of pride. If so, then angels were put to the 
test of humility. The offense of the prevaricating 
angels was the being so well satisfied with the excel- 
lence of their sublime nature, that they failed to ap- 
preciate the superior excellence of God and of the 
greater supernatural gifts which He had in store for 
them. They were content to be just themselves, and 
slighted the greater favors which the Lord was pre- 
pared to lavish on them. Wherefore, they who so 
sinned, were among the angelic hosts what Ration- 

17 



18 CHILDREN OF GOD 

alists are among men. Rationalists are men and 
women who are so well satisfied with mere humanity 
that they rebel against the supernatural gifts which 
God offers them through revealed religion. 

Exceedingly great as the number of offending 
angels appears to be, we are not in a position to state 
how great it really is. The Scriptures speak of them 
as many; but they do not tell us definitely how many 
they are. 

The proper generic name for fallen angels, is devil 
or devils. The Bible refers to them also by names 
like the following: demons; evil spirit; unclean spirit; 
and "... our wrestling is not against flesh and 
blood; but against principalities and powers, against 
the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the 
spirits of wickedness in high places." Eph. VI. 12. 
From these words of the Apostle, it may justly be 
inferred that there is some kind of organization for 
evil among them. Their chief is designated by dif- 
ferent names, such as: the Prince of this world; 
Satan; Devil; the Prince of devils, the god of this 
world ; the " great dragon . . . that old serpent, 
who is called the devil and Satan. . . . " Apoc. 
XII. 9. 

By their fall the devils were not deprived of the 
natural endowments of their being nor of their im- 
mortality as spirits; but they were hardened in malice. 
They were not given a chance to repent, because their 
superior gifts deprived them of the shadow of an 
excuse. Hatred of God and of His supernatural 



DEVILS 19 

plans especially in regard to mankind, is the chief char- 
acteristic of their malice. They were the first sinners. 
Their incessant labor is to increase the number of 
sinners and reprobates among men : " Be sober and 
watch : because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring 
lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour." 
I. Pet. V. 8. 

A great triumph of Satan over man is undermining 
belief in the existence of devils, and making little of 
their terrible work of ruin among the children of 
men. This unbelief results in a state of habitual un- 
preparedness against a most powerful enemy who 
scouts fair play and respects no law except that of 
might and deceit. 



CHAPTER VIII 

MAN AS A CREATURE OF GOD 

Man as a mere creature of God is the connecting 
link between the universe of matter and the universe 
of spirit; for man is partly animal and partly spirit 
or angel. His animal nature is called his body, and 
his spirit nature, his soul. The two natures are not 
mixed, neither are they transformed one into the 
other: they are simply united, each one maintaining 
its own natural identity; but their union is substan- 
tial. Were it not for the soul, man would be an out 
and out animal. So, too, were it not for its destiny 
to be the life-giving principle of the human body, the 
soul of man would be an angelic spirit. However, the 
soul is not a foreign resident and still less a prisoner 
in the human body. It is an essential part and also 
the determining part of human nature. As the body 
alone does not make man, so neither does his soul; 
but the two combined give us the complete composite 
being which is called man. 

Because man is such a composite being, does he 
occupy so unique a place in the universe. He is ex- 
ceedingly above all material beings, even the highest; 
but he is lower than the angels : " What is man that 
Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that 

20 



MAN AS CREATURE OF GOD 21 

Thou visitest Him ? Thou hast made him a little less 
than the angels, Thou hast crowned him with glory 
and honor: Thou hast set him over the works of Thy 
hands." Ps. VIIL 5-6. As far as his body is con- 
cerned, he is very much like all orders of lower beings, 
and especially like unto the higher animals, subject to 
the conditions of their bodily structure and life. It 
is his soul which establishes the impassable chasm be- 
tween him and all lower creation. His intelligence, 
free will and other distinctively spiritual endowments, 
come to him from his soul, and not from his body. 
Thus, too, is it his body which separates him from 
the angelic world. Hence, man is a divinely made 
epitome of the entire universe, as St. Gregory the 
Great expresses it. 

Owing to these conditions man's way of knowing 
is also peculiar to himself. Animals do not know as 
he does, neither does he know as angels do. His way 
of knowing combines the two; for his animal senses, 
experiences, and fancy, furnish the material, but his 
soul elaborates out of this material the distinctively 
human knowledge which is called science. This ex- 
plains why human thoughts and speech even about 
what is entirely immaterial and spiritual, abound in 
words whose meaning involves material conditions. 
The how of human knowledge is one of the mysteries 
of nature. 

It is also due to his composite nature that man is 
constantly driven on by two opposite subjective im- 
pulses: one towards the earthly things which he can 



22 CHILDREN OF GOD 

enjoy, because he is partly animal; and the other 
towards spiritual things which appeal to his soul. He 
needs both. Rightful coordination in satisfying these 
divers needs in conformity with God's laws for the 
regulation of human conduct, determines man's moral 
character for good. The antagpnism between these 
two opposite impulses is neither unnatural nor sinful; 
but wilfully to permit faulty coordination to establish 
itself, is both sinful and unnatural. 

Because of these two opposite impulses man's 
moral life is a constant warfare; for both animal 
and spirit strive for the ascendancy. Unfortunately, 
owing to the cowardly surrender of the soul, the ani- 
mal impulsion is only too commonly victorious. When 
man yields unduly to animal demands, he debases him- 
self to the level of beasts. When he is taken up unduly 
with his own worth, forgetting what he owes God, he 
makes himself like unto devils. When he permits him- 
self to be the plaything of his bodily cravings, he is an 
animal man; when he unduly exalts himself in his 
own conceits, he is a devilish man : " You are of your 
father the devil and the desires of your father you 
will do . . . John VIII. 44. Only they are true 
men and good who give to body and soul only what 
is due to each, and at the same time strive with all 
their might to give unto God what is rightfully His, 
— in all things keeping His commandments. 

Man's destiny as a mere creature of God is to seek 
and find his Creator and to repose in Him as his 
supreme happiness, in so far as this can be attained 



MAN AS A CREATURE OF GOD 23 

by the rightful native exercise of his natural powers, 
assisted by God's non-supernatural or ordinary provi- 
dence. No lesser destiny is worthy of man; for he 
is too sublimely great a creature to be fully content 
with anything less than God. 



CHAPTER IX 

MAN AS AN ADOPTED CHILD OF GOD 

Divine revelation informs us that it was not part 
of God's plan that man should be a creature only, 
having nothing more than the being, life, intelligence, 
free will and happiness which are strictly due to his 
human nature. He was also destined for adoptive 
divine sonship. He was elevated to this sublime su- 
pernatural dignity, either in his very creation or 
shortly afterward. Hence, the Catholic doctrine con- 
cerning the state of innocence or of original justice. 

The privileges of man as an adopted child of God, 
in the blessed state of innocence, were many. Among 
them was to be that singular one of receiving the grace 
of adoption along with birth from his parents. 
Parents would have been the channel through which 
God planned to impart the heavenly favor of adoptive 
sonship. 

The privileges of this primitive or original adoptive 
sonship may be thus stated: 

a) The grace of adoption itself. It was more than 
legal adoption as practiced among men ; for it wrought 
a change in man's physical being, which is not done 
by human adoption. In a created and limited way, 
it elevated man's nature to the level of God's nature 

24 



MAN AS ADOPTED CHILD OF GOD 25 

as the latter is the source of distinctively divine 
operations; thus enabling man's nature to become the 
source of the supernatural mentality of divine faith, 
of the supernatural love of divine charity, of the 
supernatural effort of hope, and of the supernatural 
destiny unto the beatific vision. 

As human nature is the source of all that belongs 
to man as mere man, so was the grace of adoption 
the source of all the supernatural privileges which 
were in store for man in the state of innocence as an 
adopted child of God. This supernatural adoption is 
commonly called the grace of original justice. 

b) Another supernatural privilege was the divinely 
preserved coordination of the animal part of man's 
being to the dominance of the soul, and the filial 
coordination of the soul to God's wishes. Hence, in 
the state of innocence there were to be no temptations 
to evil, except in the item which was to be man's 
trial. 

c) The third privilege was bodily immortality with 
freedom from disease and the irksomeness of labor, 
but not from labor itself. The closing scene of human 
life on earth was to be, not death as now, but a bodily 
assumption into heaven. 

d) The gifts of the state of innocence were com- 
pleted by the supernatural destiny to the most intimate 
companionship with God in life everlasting through 
beatific vision, love, and possession. 

Of course, none of these privileges were in any wise 
naturally due to man as a creature ; neither could man 



26 CHILDREN OF GOD 

by his own effort or the assistance of the entire uni- 
verse secure them for himself. God alone could be- 
stow them; but He was under no manner of obliga- 
tion to do so. They were entirely gratuitous gifts, 
lavished on man by God, moved thereto solely by His 
boundless goodness and generosity. For this reason 
such privileges are named grace, that is gratuitous 
gifts. 

Catholics so believe for reasons like the following: 

a) because the doctrine of the state of innocence is 
necessary for the right understanding of the Bible; 

b) because evil was unknown to the first human couple 
until they transgressed; c) because God sent His Only 
Begotten Son into the world to restore to mankind 
what had been lost by the first prevarication. Hence, 
from the supernatural favors merited for mankind by 
Christ Jesus, it is legitimate to infer what were the 
favors of the state of innocence, d) Then there are 
Scriptural texts like the following: " And God created 
man to His own image: to the image of God He 
created him; male and female He created them." 
Gen. I. 27. And " But of the tree of knowledge of 
good and evil, thou shalt not eat. For in what day 
soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death." 
Gen. II. 17. And: "Wherefore as by one man sin 
entered into this world, and by sin death; and so 
death passed on all men, in whom all had sinned. . . . 
For if by one man's offense death reigned through 
one; much more they who receive abundance of grace, 
and of the gift, and of justice, shall reign in life 



MAN AS ADOPTED CHILD OF GOD 27 

through one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the 
offense of one, unto all men to condemnation; so also 
by the justice of one, unto all men to justification of 
life." Rom. V. 12: 17-18. Other texts will be found 
in the following pages. 

It is remarkable how the history of ancient peoples 
bears witness to the universal belief in a past golden 
age for the human family. Whatever their hope was 
for the future, they believed both in a golden period 
of human existence and that man's history began with 
it. The real story of the human race is not the one 
Darwin dreamed. His theory of man's evolution 
from apes is both a superstition and an unhealthy hal- 
lucination. Human existence began in the glories of 
the state of innocence; but man failed to appreciate 
the privilege. His failure led to the abominations 
which history records : " Man when he was in honor 
did not understand: he hath been compared to sense- 
less beasts, and made like to them. ,, Ps. XLIII. His- 
tory shall continue to write the same detestable record 
until such time when mankind shall fully accept the 
rehabilitation which God offers through Christ Jesus. 



CHAPTER X 

THE TRIAL 

From the revelations of God's plans as made known 
by the Bible, we learn that it was His wish that man 
should in some way deserve the continued possession 
of the supernatural privileges of adopted sonship; for, 
in accordance with His divine decree, grace alone 
brings no adult to the eternal blessedness of heaven; 
but grace in conjunction with doing one's own part 
manfully, secures the priceless privilege. 

The willingness to do one's own part and the 
actually doing it freely, are the trial to which God 
subjects all adults who would either begin to be or 
continue to be His acceptable adopted children. In a 
general way, the intelligent creature's doing his own 
part, takes the shape of the sincere lowliness of soul 
which reveals itself in the dutiful obedience of chil- 
dren to the commandments of their heavenly Father. 
The forced obedience of slaves is not acceptable to 
God. Failure under this trial entails the loss of the 
Lord's favor, incurs His displeasure, and provokes 
Him to punish. Sin is the name ordinarily given to 
such failure. 

Failure on the part of Adam, the first man, was des- 
tined by God to involve the loss of the supernatural 

28 



THE TRIAL 29 

privileges which were attached to the adoptive son- 
ship of the state of innocence, not only for himself 
but also for all his descendants; for he was the nucleus 
of the entire human race and the divinely appointed 
representative of the whole human family. 

Had Adam borne up manfully under the trial, his 
descendants would have inherited from him the privi- 
leges of the state of innocence; but they too would 
have been tried individually : however, with this dif- 
ference, failure on the part of any one or any number 
of them, would have deprived him or them personally 
of these privileges, and not his or their descendants; 
for such offenders would not have been official rep- 
resentatives of the race or of any part of it, because 
by divine appointment only two represented the race 
officially. These representatives were Adam and 
Christ Jesus. 

The precise form of the trial to which Adam was 
subjected is stated in these words of the Bible : " And 
the Lord took man, and put him in the paradise of 
pleasure, to dress it and keep it. And he commanded 
him, saying: Of every tree of paradise thou shalt eat: 
but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou 
shalt not eat. For in what day soever thou shalt eat 
o»f it, thou shalt die the death." Gen. II. 15-17. 

In regard to this one item of their trial, were the 
first couple exposed to temptation; in all else the grace 
of the state of innocence safeguarded them against 
provocation to evil : for they did not even suspect evil. 
Surely not a very difficult trial, especially not for per- 



30 CHILDREN OF GOD 

sons so singularly gifted as were Adam and Eve. The 
smallness of the trial reveals the tender condescension 
of God's boundless goodness, and at the same time the 
inexcusableness of Adam's transgression. 



CHAPTER XI 
man's fall 

How Adam and Eve bore up under the trial can 
best be told in the words of the Bible : " Now the 
serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of 
the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said 
to the woman : Why hath God commanded you, that 
you should not eat of every tree of paradise? And 
the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the 
trees that are in paradise we do eat: but of the fruit 
of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God 
hath commanded us that we should not eat; and that 
we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die. And the 
serpent said to the woman : No, you shall not die the 
death. For God doth know that in what day soever 
you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened : and 
you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And 
the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair 
to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took 
of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her hus- 
band who did eat. And the eyes of them both were 
opened: and when they perceived themselves to be 
naked, they sewed fig leaves, and made themselves 
aprons. And when they heard the voice of the Lord 
God walking in paradise at the afternoon air, Adam 
and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord 

31 



32 CHILDREN OF GOD 

God, midst the trees of paradise. And the Lord God 
called Adam, and said to him : Where art thou ? And 
he said: I heard Thy voice in paradise; and I was 
afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. And 
He said to him: And who hath told thee that thou 
wast naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree 
whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not 
eat?" Gen. III. i-ii. 

The tempter was Satan. "For God created man 
incorruptible. . . . But by the envy of the devil, 
death came into the world." Wis. II. 23-24. 

The offense was one of pride leading up to dis- 
obedience: "..... you shall be as gods . . . and 
she . . . did eat, and gave to her husband who did 
eat." Pride is the beginning of all sin: " The begin- 
ning of the pride of man is to fall from God : because 
his heart is departed from Him that made him: for 
pride is the beginning of all sin: he that holdeth it 
shall be filled with maledictions, and it shall ruin him 
in the end." Eccli. X. 14-15. God's word to Adam 
was positive, admitting of no doubt: "Thou shalt die 
the death;" but Eve put it: "Lest perhaps we die." 
It has been so ever since; mankind hesitates to take 
God at His word. How exceedingly strange ! 



CHAPTER XII 

man's punishment 

Considering how highly God had favored the first 
human couple, their failure to carry out His wishes 
in a matter which demanded so little personal sacri- 
fice, was so much the more outrageously disgraceful. 
Their offense was, consequently, a mortal one. They 
should have understood that it would be : " For in 
what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the 
death," could not have been plainer. 

Because of their sin Adam and Eve were deprived 
of the graces of the state of innocence and reduced or 
degraded to the state of fallen nature. The following 
is a more detailed statement of their punishment: 

a) They lost the grace of original justice which 
was the germ of all the supernatural gifts which had 
been bestowed upon them as adopted children of God, 
— and with it their claim to the inheritance of eternal 
happiness with God through the beatific vision. 

b) The coordination of their powers and of easy 
and pleasing submission to God was broken, and in 
place thereof they became exposed to the assaults of 
the three concupiscences which have ever since been 
the bane of human life on earth. These concupis- 
cences are: that of the eyes, — insatiate greed for 

33 



34 CHILDREN OF GOD 

what is represented by wealth; that of the flesh, — the 
unruly craving for sensuous pleasures and chiefly vi- 
cious sex indulgence; that of the pride of life, — every 
manner of wanton selfish ambition. 

c) They were deprived of the privilege of bodily 
immortality, and were subjected to bodily hardships, 
disease, and death. 

d) A special punishment for the male was the irk- 
someness of labor, but not labor itself; for by labor 
man is made more Godlike : Jesus said : " The Father 
worketh until now; and I work." John V. 17. 

e) A special chastisement for the female was the 
anguish of child-bearing and burdensome subjection to 
the male. Motherhood is the wife's glory : " Behold 
the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, 
the fruit of the womb." Ps. CXXVI. 3. 

f ) They were thrown back on the native resources 
of their nature as mere creatures of God; but, on re- 
sources enfeebled by the more vicious concupiscences 
engendered by the transgression. They were not, 
however, deprived of free will and the power to live 
right. 

The Sentence. " And He said to him : And who 
hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou hast 
eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou 
shouldst not eat? And Adam said: The woman 
whom Thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me 
of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord said to the 
woman: Why hast thou done this? And she an- 
swered : The serpent deceived me, and I did eat. . . . 



MAN'S PUNISHMENT 35 

To the woman also He said: I will multiply thy sor- 
row and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring 
forth children, and thou shalt be under thy husband's 
power, and he shall have dominion over thee. And to 
Adam He said: Because thou hast hearkened to the 
voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof 
I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, cursed 
is the earth in thy work ; with labor and toil shalt thou 
eat thereof all the days of thy life. Thorns and 
thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat 
the herbs of the earth. In the sweat of thy face shalt 
thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of 
which thou wast taken; for dust thou art, and into 
dust thou shalt return. And Adam called the name of 
his wife Eve: because she was the mother of all the 
living. And the Lord God made for Adam and his 
wife garments of skins and clothed them. And He 
said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing 
good and evil: now, therefore, lest perhaps he put 
forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and 
eat, and live forever. And the Lord God sent him 
out of the paradise of pleasure to till the earth from 
which he was taken. And He cast out Adam; and 
placed before the paradise of pleasure Cherubims and 
a flaming sword, turning every way to keep the way 
of the tree of life." Gen. III. 11-24. 



CHAPTER XIII 

ORIGINAL SIN 

The punishment of Adam and Eve involved all 
their descendants, the Blessed Mother of Christ ex- 
cepted. The exception was due to the foreseen merits 
of her Son and the requirements of her virginal divine 
motherhood; for it would have been most unseemly, 
that she from whom the Most Holy Son of God took 
His bodily substance, should have been tainted by any 
kind of sin. There cannot be anything repugnant in 
the doctrine which proclaims Mary's exemption: for 
as God constituted Adam and Eve His adopted chil- 
dren from the beginning, so could He elevate the 
Blessed Virgin to the same dignity from the first in- 
stant of her conception. He could do the same for 
others, if He were so minded. 

As all men were destined to inherit through birth 
from the first man, the privileges of the adoptive son- 
ship of the state of innocence, had Adam been faithful 
to God's command, so they inherit the consequences 
of his transgression. This unfortunate heredity is 
called Original Sin. 

For the descendants of Adam, original sin is not 
one of personal commission; but it is a vitiated 
heredity. Apart from personal merit or demerit, chil- 

36 



ORIGINAL SIN 37 

dren are born rich or poor, with virtuous or vicious 
predispositions, etc., inheriting from their parents 
social conditions and personal propensities: ". . . 
Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the 
evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit." The descendants 
of Adam are the fruit of tainted parents. 

When Adam and Eve begot offspring they were no 
longer adopted children of God. Through their per- 
sonal fault, they had lost the privileges of the adopted 
sonship of the state of innocence. They had fallen 
from their supernatural estate. Not by any absolute 
necessity, but by God's free decree, their children are 
born subject to the loss entailed by the fall. Their 
children came, as their children's children now come, 
into the world, outcasts from the supernatural favors 
of God : " Wherefore as by one man sin entered into 
this world, and by sin death; so death passed upon 
all men in whom all have sinned." Rom. V. 12. Be- 
cause of the first man's transgression, our nature is 
tainted and we are born " children of wrath," turned 
away from God as Father and as our supernatural 
destiny. 

However, original sin does not deprive man of any- 
thing due his being and powers by purely natural 
claims. As far as his native being and powers are 
concerned, man now is what he would have been, had 
God never intended him for a supernatural destiny. 
Hence, no man is necessarily good or wicked; but 
assisted by the aids of God's non-supernatural provi- 
dence whereby He governs the purely natural uni- 



38 CHILDREN OF GOD 

verse, every one is able to live a clean and upright life 
in accordance with the teachings of mere human rea- 
son: for even fallen man is a free agent, able to live 
right or wrong as he may choose : " Before man is 
life and death, good and evil, that which he shall 
choose shall be given him: ... He (God) hath 
commanded no man to do wickedly, and He hath given 
no man license to sin : for He desireth not a multitude 
of faithless and unprofitable children." Eccli. XV. 
18:21-22. 






CHAPTER XIV 

THE PROMISE OF REDEMPTION 

What God did not do for the fallen angels He 
did for fallen Adam and his descendants. He prom- 
ised them redemption. Whatever the differences 
among Christians, they are agreed along general lines 
on the teaching that God promised a Redeemer to 
mankind. 

The promise was made in the sentence passed on 
Satan for his share in bringing about the prevarica- 
tion of the first human couple : " And the Lord said 
to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, 
. . . I will put enmities between thee and the 
woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush 
thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. ,, 
Gen. Ill, 14-15. Some Catholic scholars contend that 
the correct reading of the latter portion of this text, 
should be: " It " (the woman's seed) " shall crush thy 
head, and thou shalt lie in wait for its heel." The 
meaning is the same to the Catholic mind ; for " she 
shall crush thy head," evidently means that the 
woman's child shall do it. 

These words of the Almighty, especially when 
taken in conjunction with many passages of the Scrip- 
tures, show clearly that God had it in mind to rehabili- 

39 



40 CHILDREN OF GOD 

tate the human race. Hence, redemption as foretold, 
included the promises of the Redeemer; of pardon for 
sin to the repentant; of re-admission to adoptive son- 
ship for the docile; of life everlasting with God in 
heaven for the obedient unto death. The time and 
manner of this rehabilitation God revealed more and 
more clearly as the ages went by, until the coming 
into the world of His Only Begotten Son made Man, 
through Whom it was not only made fully known, 
but by Whom it was also accomplished. 

Redemption is also spoken of as restoration, and 
deliverance, and resuscitation, and enlivening, and 
healing, and reconciliation, and renewal, and rehabili- 
tation, and justification, and sanctification. All these 
words mean substantially the same when applied to 
redemption; but each one emphasizes some particular 
aspect of this great work of God's mercy. Probably 
the word rehabilitation is the most generic. 

God was not obliged to rehabilitate man. Neither 
was He obligated to do it in one way rather than 
another. Throughout, His own good pleasure was 
the only determining factor. Without depriving him 
of anything due him naturally, God might have left 
fallen man to the consequences of the transgression, 
and to work out his natural destiny as best he might, 
attaining unto such happiness as lay within the native 
reach of his purely human powers. So, too, having 
determined to restore fallen man to a condition of 
supernatural favors and destiny, He was at liberty to 
choose any one of many ways in which it might be 



THE PROMISE OF REDEMPTION 41 

done. What is of consequence to man, is to find out 
what the Lord really did do, in order to conform 
thereto. It would be the height of folly and of im- 
pertinence to rebel against any plan which the Lord 
saw fit to adopt : " O man, who art thou that repliest 
against God ? Shall the thing formed say to him that 
formed it: Why hast thou made me thus." Rom. 

IX. 20. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE REDEEMER 

Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of the Virgin Mary, the 
Incarnate Son of God, is the promised Redeemer Who 
rehabilitated the human race. Whatever else Chris- 
tians may think about Christ, they are agreed that 
He is the Promised Redeemer. 

Jesus is at one and the same time, true God and 
true man. In Him the divine and human natures are 
united, the bond of union being the Second Person 
of the ever Blessed Trinity, God the Son. Hence, the 
union is a personal one. There is no mixture of the 
two natures, no transformation of one into the other, 
because nothing of the kind could be; but there is 
union, a substantial union most assuredly, yet only a 
union. In Christ Jesus there is one personality only, 
not two. His personality is not a human one; but the 
divine only, namely, that of God the Son, the Second 
Person of the Blessed Trinity. " But when the full- 
ness of time was come, God sent His Son, made of a 
woman, made under the law: that He might redeem 
them who were under the law : that we might receive 
the adoption of sons." Gal. IV. 4-5. 

Jesus had a human foster-father, St. Joseph, who 
was truly the husband of Mary; but Jesus had no 

42 



THE REDEEMER 43 

human father by whose aid He was conceived. His 
conception was effected, not by any manner of co- 
habitation, but by the overshadowing power of the 
Holy Ghost. Hence, the divine maternity did not de- 
prive Mary of the privilege of virginity. A most 
cherished belief of Catholics, forcibly insisted upon by 
the Church, is that the Blessed Mother was a virgin 
before the birth of Jesus, remained such in giving Him 
birth, and continued to be a virgin ever after. It is 
repellent to Catholic thought, that she from whom the 
Son of God took His bodily substance, should be 
mother to other children. New Testament passages 
which mention the brethren of the Lord, do not dis- 
prove the correctness of this belief; for the Scriptures 
designate also near relatives, such as cousins, by the 
term " brethren." 

The Virgin-Birth of Jesus is thus narrated in the 
New Testament. ". . . The angel Gabriel was sent 
from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to 
a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, 
of the house of David; and the virgin's name was 
Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: 
Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee : blessed art 
thou among women. Who having heard, was trou- 
bled at his saying, and thought with herself what man- 
ner of salutation this should be. And the angel said 
to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace 
with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, 
and shalt bring forth a Son; and thou shalt call his 
name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called 



44 CHILDREN OF GOD 

the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall 
give unto Him the throne of David His Father; and 
He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever. And 
of His kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary 
said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I 
know not man? And the angel, answering, said to 
her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the 
power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And 
therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee 
shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy 
cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her 
old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is 
called barren: because no word shall be impossible 
with God. And Mary said : Behold the handmaid of 
the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. 
And the angel departed from her." Luke I. 26-38. 
And : " Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. 
When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, 
before they came together, she was found with child, 
of the Holy Ghost. Whereupon Joseph her husband, 
being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose 
her, was minded to put her away privately. But 
while he thought on these things, behold the angel of 
the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph, 
son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy 
wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the 
Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a Son: and 
thou shalt call His name Jesus. For He shall save 
His people from their sins. Now all this was done 
that it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by 



THE REDEEMER 45 

the prophet, saying: Behold a virgin shall be with 
child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call His 
name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with 
us." Matth. I. 18-23. 

The Lord Jesus is in all things truly man, truly 
human, only a human personality and whatever 
savors of sin excepted. Though His conception and 
birth were virginal, His body was taken from His 
mother's substance, as is the case with other children. 
His soul was a human soul, the same as the souls of 
other men, only much more extraordinarily endowed 
with supernatural gifts. His soul, the same as the 
souls of other men, was created for Him by God. But 
Christ Jesus had no human personality. The Second 
Person of the Blessed Trinity, God the Son, was and 
is His only Personality. 

Because Jesus is thus both God and man, may we 
legitimately speak of Him at times as man, a creature 
of God, and, therefore, less than God; and at other 
times, as God and equal to God in all things. He 
thus spoke of Himself. Hence, some scriptural state- 
ments apply to Him as man, and others are true of 
Him as God; the former would not be true of Him 
as God only, and the latter would not be true of Him 
as man only. 



CHAPTER XVI 

REPRESENTATION 

The word representation is suggestive of social 
theories which are very acceptable to the modern 
world, and especially to Americans. American gov- 
ernment from that of the village to that of the nation 
is representative. Insistence on representation led up 
to the War of Independence and to the establishment 
of the United States as a separate national unit 
among the peoples of the world. 

Representation enters very largely into the Catholic 
doctrines of the state of innocence, of original sin, 
and of redemption. Adam and Christ Jesus are the 
representatives of the human race. They were not 
elected to the position by the electoral vote of the race 
or any portion thereof; but were appointed represen- 
tatives by the free election of God. They were made 
representatives in the matter of divine concessions in 
no way due to human nature. To them was com- 
mitted the representative action which should deter- 
mine whether or not the supernatural favors of adop- 
tive sonship, should or should not be within the reach 
of all the children of men. 

Adam was appointed by the Lord to represent all 
his descendants to the very last generation, in the mat- 

46 



REPRESENTATION 47 

ter of the possession or loss of the supernatural favors 
of the state of innocence. The very manner of rep- 
resentation was determined by God. It was obedi- 
ence to the command not to eat of the fruit of the tree 
of knowledge of good and evil. Obedience on Adam's 
part would have secured for all men the supernatural 
privilege of being born in the state of innocence. Dis- 
obedience would deprive them of this privilege. How 
Adam saw fit to represent us, has been sufficiently 
told. His disobedience degraded us to the state of 
fallen nature : " Wherefore as by one man sin entered 
into this world, and by sin death ; and so death passed 
upon all men, in whom all have sinned." Rom. V. 12. 

The Lord Jesus was appointed by God to represent 
the human race in the work of unmerited restoration 
to the supernatural favors of adoptive divine sonship. 
How He represented us is the consoling and comfort- 
ing history with which every practicing Christian is 
familiar: "He humbled Himself, becoming obedient 
unto death, even to the death of the cross." Phil. 
II. 8. As a consequence of His glorious representa- 
tion, the return to the state of God's adopted children, 
destined to eternal companionship with God through 
the beatific vision, has been made possible for all. 

There is, however, an immense difference in the way 
the benefits of the two representations were divinely 
appointed to accrue to the respective beneficiaries. 
The privileges of Adam's representation were to ac- 
crue to all by the mere fact of their being his descend- 
ants, of being born of him; but the privileges of 



48 CHILDREN OF GOD 

Christ's representation accrue to those only who will- 
ingly accept the ministrations of the Church estab- 
lished by Him for the purpose of imparting to men 
individually those privileges. 

The Apostle of the Gentiles contrasts beautifully 
the representation of Christ Jesus and of Adam: " But 
not as the offense, so also the gift. For if by the 
offense of one, many died; much more the grace of 
God, and the gift, by the grace of one man, Jesus 
Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was 
by one sin, so also is the gift. For judgment indeed 
was by one unto condemnation; but grace is of many 
offenses, unto justification. For if by one man's 
offense death reigned through one; much more they 
who receive abundance of grace, and of the gift, and 
of justice, shall reign in life through one, Jesus Christ. 
Therefore, as by the offense of one, unto all men to 
condemnation; so also by the justice of one, unto all 
men to justification of life. For as by the disobedi- 
ence of one man, many were made sinners; so also 
by the obedience of one, many shall be made just. 
Now the law entered in, that sin might abound. And 
where sin abounded, grace did more abound. That 
as sin hath reigned to death; so also grace might 
reign by justice unto life everlasting, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord." Rom. V. 15-21. 



CHAPTER XVII 

RATIFICATION 

The doctrine of representation of the race by Adam 
and Christ Jesus, should not be so understood as to 
make it conflict with the personal choice of those rep- 
resented; for God, Who made man free, respects this 
freedom to the extent that He will not even force 
man to benefit by His infinite bounty. Hence, those 
represented must, at the proper time and in the di- 
vinely appointed way, ratify the representation. 

This ratification may take one of two forms; first, 
that of dutiful obedience alone; and, second, that of 
deliberate acceptance combined with such obedience. 
The first would have been sufficient for all in the state 
of innocence, had Adam remained faithful; for his 
offspring would have been born into God's family of 
adopted children through natural birth. It is also 
now sufficient for those who are baptized in infancy; 
for unconsciously they are born again of water and 
the Holy Ghost. Under present conditions, the sec- 
ond is necessary for all who in adult age desire to 
enter into the enjoyment of the blessings which Christ 
secured for mankind through His representation. 

The manner of acceptance and of obedience is not 
left to the whim and fancy of individuals. The man- 

49 



50 CHILDREN OF GOD 

ner of both must conform entirely to the conditions 
laid down by the Father Who is in heaven; for 
throughout there is question of receiving the gratui- 
tously bestowed favor of admission into His family 
of adopted children. 

The acceptance must be voluntary, sincere, and must 
proceed from honest conviction. It must be the ac- 
ceptance of what God offers; and the gift must be 
accepted in the way appointed by Him. Human sub- 
stitutes cannot take the place of what the Lord or- 
dained. 

In like manner the obedience must be of the kind 
which meets with God's approval. The forced obedi- 
ence of slaves is not acceptable. It must be the filial 
obedience which manifests itself in the performance 
of the good works set down in Christ's Gospel of sal- 
vation; for the Savior declared: " He that hath My 
commandments, and keepeth them ; he it is that loveth 
Me. ... He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My 
words. And the word which you have heard is not 
Mine; but the Father's Who sent Me." John XVI. 
21 and 24. 

Adam having been false to the duties of his rep- 
resentative office, God holds his descendants to the 
consequences of their forefather's faithlessness if they 
ratify what Adam did so wrongfully. Knowingly to 
reject the benefits of Christ's redeeming representa- 
tion, involves the ratification of Adam's hurtful rep- 
resentation. All who thus refuse to acknowledge 
Christ as their representative and who fail to follow 



RATIFICATION 51 

His leadership, merit for themselves eternal reproba- 
tion. Every form of willful unbelief and of willful 
misbelief, and of grievously sinful conduct, includes 
both the rejection of Christ's representation and the 
approval of Adam's misrepresentation. 

The Lord having made men free leaves it to them 
either to accept or reject His offered favors; or, if 
having received these favors without being consulted, 
as is the case with those baptized in infancy, He leaves 
it to their choice when reaching the age of reason, to 
continue in the possession of His favors by filial obedi- 
ence or to cast them off by disobedience. But God 
does not leave it to the choice of any one to determine 
the consequences of acceptance and obedience, or of 
rejection and disobedience. For acceptance and obedi- 
ence, there shall be life everlasting; and for rejection 
and disobedience, the penalty shall be eternal condem- 
nation. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

man's restoration 

Mankind lost the supernatural favors of the state 
of innocence through the pride and disobedience of 
Adam, the first representative of the human race; 
through the humility and obedience of Christ Jesus, 
the second representative of the human race, redemp- 
tion was accomplished : " For as by the disobedience 
of one man, many were made sinners; so also by 
the obedience of one, many shall be made just." Rom. 
V. 19. 

The divinely appointed method for effecting the re- 
demption of fallen human nature was through the 
merits of the mortal life, sufferings, and death on the 
cross of the Savior: " For if, when we were enemies, 
we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son; 
much more being reconciled, shall we be saved by His 
life.^ Rom. V. 10. His blood was the price of our 
redemption : " Knowing that you were not redeemed 
with corruptible things as gold or silver, from your 
vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers : but 
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb un- 
spotted and undefiled." I. Pet. I. 18-19. 

Christians are familiar with the history of Christ's 
mortal life of atonement. Beginning with the message 
of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin-Mother and 

52 



MAN'S RESTORATION S3 

closing with the Savior's death on the cross, every 
phase of it reveals the astounding lowliness and obe- 
dience of " the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sins 
of the world." Thus did the Apostle of the Gentiles 
bear witness to the Savior : " For let this mind be in 
you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in 
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal 
with God: but emptied Himself, taking the form of 
a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in 
habit found as a man. He humbled Himself, becom- 
ing obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. 
For which cause God also hath exalted Him, and hath 
given Him a name which is above all names : that in 
the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of those that 
are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth : and that 
every tongue shall confess that the Lord Jesus Christ 
is in the glory of God the Father." Phil. I. 5-1 1. 

Because merit is measured, not so much by what 
is done as by the worth of the person doing it, Christ's 
atonement is of infinite value; for the excellence of 
His divine Personality is infinite. Hence, Jesus 
merited super-abundantly for all men, pardon for sin, 
the blotting out of the sentence of condemnation, re- 
admission into the family of God's adopted children, 
and life everlasting for all who walk in His footsteps: 
" And we know that to them who love God, all things 
work together unto good, to such as, according to His 
purpose, are called to be saints. For whom He fore- 
knew, He also predestinated to be made conformable 
to the image of His Son; that He might be the first- 



54 CHILDREN OF GOD 

born among many brethren. And whom He predes- 
tinated, them also He called. And whom He called, 
them He also justified. And whom He justified, them 
He also glorified. What shall we then say to these 
things? If God be for us, who is against us? He 
that spared not even His own Son, but delivered Him 
up for us all, how hath He not also, with Him, given 
us all things?" Rom. VIII. 28-32. 

Whilst Christ Jesus made atonement for all men, 
not all shall reap the benefits of His redemption, be- 
cause they fail to meet the conditions laid down for 
sharing therein. Human pride rebels against the di- 
vinely placed conditions. Too many wish to be 
saved, provided they be allowed to go about it in their 
own way; but salvation is only for those who accept 
it as it is offered by the Lord. It is absolutely His 
free gift; He alone, therefore, can determine how it 
may be had. Wherefore, whoever shall fail to meet 
God's conditions, shall look for salvation in vain. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE FRUITS OF THE REDEMPTION 

Considering the immense price which Christ Jesus 
paid for the redemption of mankind, the greatness of 
the fruits thereof should not surprise any one: for 
" He that spared not even His own Son, but delivered 
Him up for us all, how hath He not also, with Him, 
given us all things?" 

These fruits are the supernatural rehabilitation of 
the entire man, consisting in the pardon of sin and 
sanctification. This sanctification is the elevation or 
uplift to the supernatural, of his nature, by grace; of 
his mind, by faith; of his will, by charity; of his effort 
and destiny, by hope; of his efficiency, by actual grace; 
of his acquirable habits, by the infused moral virtues; 
of heredity, by the gifts of the Holy Ghost; and of 
his social religious life, by the establishment of the 
Church. 

Grace. Our Blessed Lord said : " I am come that 
they may have life and may have it more abundantly.'' 
John X. 10. Grace is the supernal life of which Jesus 
and His Apostles spoke in such glowing terms. It is 
a new source of supernatural spiritual vitality. It is 
most intimate union with God, bringing about man's 
elevation into the sphere of the Divine Life. Through 

55 



56 CHILDREN OF GOD 

grace man is engrafted into the vine of eternal life: 
" I am the vine ; you the branches : he that abideth in 
Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for 
without Me you can do nothing." John XV. 5. 
Speaking of this sublime new life of the children of God 
through grace, Jesus declared : " As the living Father 
hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that 
eateth Me, the same also shall live by Me." John VI. 
58. Grace makes possible for every one the glorious 
outburst of the Apostle of the Gentiles : " I live, now 
not I; but Christ liveth in me. And that I live now 
in the flesh: I live in the faith of the Son of God, 
Who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me." 
Gal. II. 20. 

Grace is not God Himself. It is a created super- 
natural entity which abides in the soul, elevating her, 
bringing her into closest touch with God and making 
her so like unto Him, that St. Peter describes it as a 
partaking of divine nature : " By Whom," Jesus, " He 
hath given us most great and precious promises : that 
by these you may be made partakers of the divine na- 
ture : flying the corruption of that concupiscence which 
is in the world." II Pet. L. 4. Grace, however, is not 
a parceling out God's being in portions. Wonderfully 
great as it is, it is still no more than a created sharing 
in what is distinctively God's own. 

Grace cleanses from sin, cancels the sentence of 
reprobation, admits to God's family of adopted chil- 
dren and constitutes the recipient co-heir with Christ 
Jesus: "For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, 



THE FRUITS OF THE REDEMPTION 57 

they are the sons of God. For you have not received 
the spirit of bondage again in fear; but you have re- 
ceived the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: 
Abba (Father). For the Spirit Himself giveth testi- 
mony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God. And 
if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God, and joint heirs 
with Christ : yet so, if we suffer with Him, that we may 
also be glorified with Him. For I reckon that the 
sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared 
with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us. 
For the expectation of the creature waiteth for the 
revelation of the sons of God." Rom. VIII. 14-19. 

What human nature is to man as simply a creature 
of God, sanctifying grace is to him as an adopted child 
of God. As human nature is the source of all that 
belongs to man as simply man, so grace is the source 
of all the supernatural privileges which belong to man 
as God's adopted child. 

Faith. Catholic mentality, especially in religious 
matters, is very different from that of other Chris- 
tians. It is the product of the divine gift of faith 
which enables them to look up sincerely to the Church 
as God's school of revealed religion, to acknowledge 
God to be the author of the lessons taught, to accept 
all of them and to assent to all of them with true in- 
terior conviction, on the strength of God's having 
taught them and of His guarantee that the Church, 
His school, shall never blunder in teaching the lessons 
of revelation committed to her keeping. These les- 
sons constitute the " depositum fidei," the deposit of 



58 CHILDREN OF GOD 

faith, which is the entire collection of revealed doc- 
trines both written and handed down by word of 
mouth. 

This supernatural gift of faith is rooted in the mind 
of man, elevating it and enabling it in a perfectly- 
rational manner to meet all the requirements of belief 
in God as the teacher of revelation, and of acceptance 
of the Church as the divinely appointed witness to His 
revelation and its meaning. The habit of faith is 
infused along with grace. Once received, it is not lost 
except by willful infidelity, such as apostasy and 
heresy. Hence, whilst all grievous sins involve the 
loss of sanctifying grace, only sins against faith, entail 
the loss of faith. 

Catholics do not pretend to understand the how 
and why of revealed doctrines, except in so far as 
God saw fit to make the same known. They unhesi- 
tatingly admit that many of the doctrines taught by 
the Church are mysteries, meaning thereby that the 
how and why of these doctrines are unknown to them. 
They are entirely content with the statement of fact 
enunciated by the doctrine ; for to them faith is what 
the Apostle declared it to be : " Now faith is the sub- 
stance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of 
things that appear not." Hebr. XI. i. 

Among the mysteries which Catholics believe, are the 
following: God's being and attributes; — the Trinity of 
Persons in One God; — the Incarnation of God the 
Son, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity; — the 
Divinity of Jesus, the "Son of Man; " — the atone- 



THE FRUITS OF THE REDEMPTION 59 

ment; — the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist; 
— the abiding presence and guidance of the Holy 
Ghost in the Church; — the Holy Spirit's work in the 
sanctification of souls; — predestination and repro- 
bation; etc., etc. For the needs of this present life, it 
is enough to know that God condescended to reveal 
the facts to be as proclaimed by these doctrines. In 
heaven, where the elect shall see God face to face, 
the why and how of mysteries shall be clearly known. 

Mysteries prove nothing against the faith; for the 
why and how of many facts which fall constantly 
under our observation, are no less hidden from us. 
What more familiar than that we think, will, do as we 
please and are alive; yet scholars cannot agree among 
themselves about the how and why of it all. All sorts 
of explanations are offered, one at variance with the 
other. Thought, willing, liberty and life itself, are 
mysteries. But what of it? Doubt them or deny 
them for this cause? The knowledge of the facts 
that we do think and will, are free and live, are 
amply sufficient for the needs of life. Why should 
not the same kind of knowledge suffice for the needs 
of the supernatural life of the adopted children of 
God? 

Hope. The Bible declares that God made man 
to His own image and likeness. Both as creatures 
and as adopted children of God are we like unto our 
Creator. Many and sublime are the points of like- 
ness. Among these is man's power to do things for 
his own advantage. God is the Creator of all things. 



60 CHILDREN OF GOD 

Man is the maker of many things. God created the 
universe for the manifestation of His divine glory. 
Man never tires of the effort to better the conditions 
of his mortal life. When true to himself, he never 
fails to glorify his Creator and Father by his every 
effort. 

By the supernatural virtue of hope, a new direction 
and superior divine aids are imparted to the effort of 
the adopted children of God. By this gift they are 
enabled to regard the period of their earthly life as 
a time of trial, pilgrimage, and getting ready for the 
blessed life of eternity with God in heaven, Who Him- 
self shall be the reward of their persevering honorable 
effort. They value all things and conditions of this 
mortal life for their worth as stepping stones for pil- 
grims who are on the way to their true and lasting 
home : " For we have not here a lasting city, but we 
seek one that is to come." Heb. XIII. 14. And: 
" Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pil- 
grims to refrain yourselves from carnal desires which 
war against the soul. ,, I. Pet. II. 11. And: " For 
the Spirit Himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that 
we are the sons of God, and if sons, heirs also; heirs 
indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if 
we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified 
with Him." Rom. VIII. 16-17. 

Christian hope as taught by the Catholic Church, is 
not opposed to earnest striving for success in any de- 
partment of human effort, whether it be for reason- 
able enjoyment, comfort or wealth; but it aims to 



THE FRUITS OF THE REDEMPTION 61 

make this striving thoroughly subservient to the re- 
quirements of the sublime standard of life exhibited 
by the teaching and example of Christ Jesus. The 
children of God who live by the heavenly hope which 
has been implanted in them, are expected to be in 
every way thoroughly efficient, using the talents re- 
ceived from God, whether they be one, two, or five; 
but it is not for efficiency's own sake or the purely 
earthly fruits thereof. What they may never lose 
sight of, if true to their privilege, is to use even human 
efficiency and its products as so many aids for reach- 
ing heaven : " Wherefore, brethren, labor the more, 
that by good works you may make sure your calling 
and election. . . ." II. Pet. I. 10. 

It is the spirit of this hope which goads sincere 
Catholics on to be ever insistent in the performance 
of good works, knowing that " even as the body with- 
out the spirit is dead; so also faith without works is 
dead." They believe most firmly in and trust with- 
out reserve to the boundless merits of the Savior's 
atonement; but they also know that the promises of 
special supernatural assistance and of eternal reward 
are not for idlers and transgressors : " Be ye there- 
fore followers of God, as most dear children; and 
walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath 
delivered Himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice 
to God for an odor of sweetness. But fornication, 
and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not so 
much as be named among you, as becometh saints : or 
obscenity, or foolish talking, or scurrility, which is to 



62 CHILDREN OF GOD 

no purpose; but rather giving thanks. For know you 
this and understand, that no fornicator, or unclean, 
or covetous person (which is a serving of idols), hath 
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." 
Eph. V. 1-5. 

Whilst Christian hope calls for the best effort of 
man in every department of life's activities, its chief 
aim is not material prosperity; for Christ did not come 
to teach men how to accumulate wealth and how to 
have a good time generally. What He came for was : 
to free men from sin; to secure for them God's fa- 
therly friendship; to enable them to be better men by 
living worthily of their calling as God's adopted chil- 
dren; and to prepare them for the blessedness of 
eternal life. All this is quite possible in the midst 
of poverty, failure, and many sufferings. No doubt, 
loyal response to Christ's guidance through His Church 
on the part of peoples and their governments is bound 
to lead up to a greater amount of reasonable temporal 
prosperity; for doing so will remove more and more 
from among men what is productive of misery. 

Charity. The most characteristic manifestation of 
the supernatural life of God's adopted children is 
charity : " And now there remain faith, hope, and 
charity, these three : but the greatest of these is char- 
ity." I. Cor. XIII. 13. 

Charity is immensely more excellent than philan- 
thropy; for charity is the love of God for His own 
sake and the love of man for God's sake, whilst 
philanthropy is the love of man for humanity's sake. 



THE FRUITS OF THE REDEMPTION 63 

What comparison can there be between the two ex- 
pressions; for God's sake, and for man's sake? 

Charity, and not philanthropy, is the all-controlling 
motive power of the life of God's adopted children; 
for the purpose of revealed religion is to make the 
love of God the chief inspiration of all conduct and 
to cause the love for man to flower out of the supreme 
love for God : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and 
with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and first 
commandment. And the second is like to this : Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two 
commandments dependeth the whole law and the 
prophets." Matth. XXII. 37-40. 

The charity of God's children is not the product of 
mere human effort. It is the work of the Holy 
Spirit : " And hope confoundeth not : because the 
charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, by the 
Holy Ghost, Who is given to us." Rom. V. 5. It is 
a supernatural habit implanted in the will of man, lift- 
ing it up far above the sphere of its own native abili- 
ties and empowering it to attain unto God as Friend, 
Father, and Infinite Goodness with the love of a child 
whose devotion is undivided, and to reach out unto all 
men with the love of brotherhood for the Father's 
sake. 

There is nothing selfish or self-seeking in charity. 
This disinterestedness is a chief point of difference 
between hope and charity. There is a very high grade 
of love for God in the supernatural virtue of hope, 



64 CHILDREN OF GOD 

because God is so boundlessly lavish in His goodness 
to us; but it is not disinterested: for God is thus loved, 
because He is good to us. The disinterested love of 
charity and the interested love of hope, are not, how- 
ever, antagonistic and exclusive of one another; the 
former is the supreme motive of life, and the latter 
is the divinely appointed aim of effort. Both are the 
work of the Holy Ghost in the heart of the elect. 

The test and measure of charity is obedience to 
God and His Christ. The Savior Himself so speaks 
of it : " He that hath My commandments and, keepeth 
them; he it is that loveth Me. And he that loveth 
Me, shall be loved of My Father: and I will love him, 
and will manifest Myself to him. ... If any one 
love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will 
love him, and We will come to him, and will make 
Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not, keepeth 
not My words. And the word which you have heard, 
is not Mine; but the Father's Who sent Me." John 
XIV. 21, 23-24. 

A correct understanding of the Church's doctrine 
about charity will explain better than aught else what 
it is that impels her and her devoted members. Her 
intense missionary understakings and the spirit of per- 
sonal sacrifice which she inspires, proceed, not from 
the hope of earthly gain but from charity. Ask 
what prompts her missionaries to cast their lot with 
savage peoples, — her priests the world over to labor 
so strenuously among all classes, but by preference 
among the lower, — her very many sisterhoods to care 



THE FRUITS OF THE REDEMPTION 65 

for orphans, the aged, the sick, incurables, cancerous 
and leprous patients, and the much sinned against 
social outcasts? The answer from all will be the 
same: "The charity of Christ presseth us." II. Cor. 
V. 14. This same charity inspires the forbearance 
of Catholic people under outrageous slanders of all 
kinds. What other religious body can point to such 
a record? 

The Gifts of the Holy Ghost. Heredity is much 
discussed as a factor determining individual character. 
Always making due allowance for the power of self- 
shaping, which is inseparable from free will, parents 
influence greatly the future character of their offspring. 
Children are apt to be what their parents were at the 
time of parenthood; for the child's body is substance 
of their bodily substance, and bodily tone is a sub- 
dominant of the harmony or dissonance of the off- 
spring's future life. Character is the sum of inherited 
predispositions and of freely acquired habits. 

There is also a heredity in the supernatural life of 
the adopted children of God. In their new birth 
through water and the Holy Ghost, they inherit from 
the Holy Spirit supernatural predispositions which St. 
Thomas A'quin describes as " divine instincts." They 
are each a different ready responsiveness to the action 
of the Holy Ghost in the soul, an affinity for the heav- 
enly impulsions which come from Him, and sympathy 
for His invitations to union with God. These pre- 
dispositions are not passing conditions, but are more 
or less permanent phases of the life of God's children. 



66 CHILDREN OF GOD 

Seven of these predispositions or divine instincts 
are enumerated : " And the spirit of the Lord shall 
rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of under- 
standing, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the 
spirit of knowledge, and of piety. And he shall be 
filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. ..." 
Isa. XI. 2-3. Primarily these words refer to the 
Christ; but, because His life is the pattern of the life 
of the children of God, they apply also to these; for 
the New Testament plainly declared the Holy Spirit 
to be present in the children of God, working for their 
sanctification : " Know you not, that you are the tem- 
ple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in 
you?" I. Cor. III. 16. And: "Likewise the Spirit 
also helpeth our infirmity. For we know not what we 
should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself 
asketh for us with unspeakable groanings. And he 
that searcheth the hearts knoweth what the Spirit de- 
sireth; because He asketh for the saints according to 
God." Rom. VIII. 26-27. 

Following the lead of St. Thomas Aquin, the divine 
heredities or divine instincts represented by the Gifts 
of the Holy Ghost may be thus explained. The ex- 
planations are merely suggestive. To develop fully 
what is suggested, would take many pages. The Gift 
of Wisdom is readiness to regard our life on earth 
from God's view-point, and especially from the view- 
point of His love for mankind. The Gift of Under- 
standing is spiritual alertness in catching the meaning 
of God's revelation. It is supernatural mental acumen 



THE FRUITS OF THE REDEMPTION 67 

in grasping what is needful for salvation. The Gift 
of Science is greater facility in acquiring a balanced 
knowledge of God's revelation, more by way of "in- 
tuitive inference " than by the tedious processes of 
school reasoning. The Spirit of Counsel is the super- 
natural common sense of God's children, revealing 
itself in the rightful adjustment of the details of life 
to the requirements of what God has revealed. The 
Spirit of Fortitude is spiritual grit and perseverance 
in living up to the doctrine of the cross. It is an aid 
to follow Christ consistently, when doing so calls for 
personal sacrifice. The Gift of Piety fosters the af- 
fectionate home or family spirit in our relations with 
God as Father and with His other children on earth, 
in purgatory and in heaven. The Gift of Fear pro- 
motes dread and abhorrence of wrongdoing, because it 
angers the Father. 

These gifts are also special divine safeguards against 
wretched human frailties : Wisdom, against worldli- 
ness of mind ; Understanding, against mental sluggish- 
ness about the things which are unto God; Counsel, 
against the foolhardiness of spiritual recklessness; 
Knowledge, against haughty narrowness of mind and 
rebellion against the teaching authority of the Church ; 
Fortitude, against the fickleness of the flabby spiritual 
heart; Piety, against cold and hard selfishness in the 
practice of religion; Fear, against trifling with and 
presuming on God's boundless goodness in His dealings 
with us. 

Any one who is familiar with the life of devout 



68 CHILDREN OF GOD 

Catholics in the concrete, cannot fail to notice these 
predispositions, responsivenesses, sympathies, and 
affinities for the action of the Holy Ghost in souls. To 
observe both is the special privilege of priests who are 
much engaged in the work of the confessional. For 
the thoughtful confessor, the abiding presence of the 
Holy Ghost in the Church and in the children of God 
individually, is not only a sublime theory, but it is 
also a most delightful condition. Hence, it is easily 
understood why the Holy See is so much in earnest 
in promoting among the members of the Church, a 
very special devotion towards the Holy Ghost. 

Infused Moral Virtues. The rehabilitation through 
Christ, resulting in newness of nature through grace, 
in newness of mind through faith, in newness of heart 
through charity, in newness of effort through hope, 
and in newness of heredity through the Gifts of the 
Holy Ghost, calls also for newness of the moral virtues 
as practiced by the adopted children of God; otherwise 
the supernatural mechanism of their spiritual life could 
not be a harmonious whole. The prudence, justice, 
fortitude and temperance of Catholics worthy of the 
name, must be of a much higher order than the same 
virtues as practised by highly moral heathens ; for 
these have only the guidance of reason and the aids 
provided by God as Creator, whilst Catholics have the 
additional advantages of adoptive sonship and the 
most generous helps provided by God as Father. 

Hence, the moral virtues, as found in the faith- 
ful children of God, are elevated or lifted to the super- 



THE FRUITS OF THE REDEMPTION 69 

natural order by the grace of the Lord. This does not 
mean, however, that these virtues are imparted to the 
soul in developed form, any more than the natural 
moral virtues are so imparted. Only the supernatural 
operative abilities for the practice of these virtues are 
implanted when man is justified by the grace of God. 
Supernatural spiritual self-culture is needed for their 
development, just as purely human self -culture is re- 
quired for the development of moral virtues in men 
who have not attained unto the grace of Christ Jesus. 
Spiritual self-culture is also the preparation for the 
increase of the divine favors which God bestows. 

Whilst the cardinal virtues are only four, their 
branches are many. Thus justice which is the habitual 
disposition to render unto God and fellow-creatures 
what is due Him and them, gives rise to religion, duti- 
fulness to family, patriotism, courtesy, truthfulness, 
honesty in matters which can be valued by money, etc. 
Fortitude which is steadfastness in holding to a virtu- 
ous course under hardships is divided into magna- 
nimity, heroism, patience, endurance, and perseverance. 
Temperance, which is keeping the cravings for self- 
gratification within the bounds of morality, and 
especially the craving for sensuous pleasures, has as 
branches, chastity, continence, sobriety, modesty, mod- 
eration in food, drink, rest, amusements, mildness, 
thrift, penance, bodily mortification, and self-denial 
generally. Self-denial is necessary for all who would 
live a clean life and punish themselves for undue past 
self-indulgence. Without the self-crucifixion of self- 



70 CHILDREN OF GOD 

denial, one is bound to be very much of an animal. 
Prudence is the knowing when and how to do the 
right thing in the right way. Prudence is a tutor and 
guide to the other virtues. It is noted for docility, 
counsel, alertness, and the solid good common sense 
which knows how to apply the rule of reason and faith 
to the concrete conditions of life. 

Actual Grace. The Blessed Savior declared 
" without Me you can do nothing." Hence, for every 
virtuous deed God's assistance is needed. These 
divine aids for the actual avoidance of evil and the 
actual doing of good, Catholics name ACTUAL 
GRACE, because they are given from moment to 
moment as the need for divine assistance arises. Their 
number is immense; for the individual acts of virtue 
expected from the adopted children of God are ex- 
ceedingly many. 

Summary. The fruits of redemption, then, are : — 
sanctifying or justifying grace; — the theological 
virtues of faith, hope, and charity; — the Gifts of 
the Holy Ghost; — the infused moral virtues; — and 
actual grace. Every one of these is a gift of 
God gratuitously given. They are imparted for 
the first time when rehabilitation takes place through 
Baptism. They can be lost subsequently through 
the commission of grievous sin; but God in His 
mercy has made provision for their restoration either 
through the Sacrament of Penance or through perfect 
contrition. 

Faith, hope, and charity are called theological vir- 



THE FRUITS OF THE REDEMPTION 71 

tues 3 because God is their object: in faith, His veracity; 
in charity, His infinite goodness and lovableness; in 
hope, His infinite bounty in offering Himself as the 
reward for fidelity to His commandments, and His 
power. The designation moral is given to the other 
virtues, because their object is the regulation of human 
conduct, largely by personal effort. 

The social religious life of the children of God in 
and through the Church, will be taken up later. 



CHAPTER XX 

GOOD WORKS AND MERIT 

Rehabilitation through the grace of justification is 
God's work, not man's. This, however, is far from 
saying that nothing is required of the sinner to be 
justified, or of those who have been justified. Good 
works of repentance, and the good works of dutiful 
obedience, are required. The good works of repen- 
tance are different for the first rehabilitation through 
the Sacrament of Baptism or its sincere desire, and for 
subsequent rehabilitations through the Sacrament of 
Penance or through perfect contrition as will be ex- 
plained. In all cases, the sinner or saint, must freely 
accept God's offered grace; for the Lord does not 
force His favors on the unwilling. 

Preparation for Rehabilitation. The first rehab- 
ilitation which is through Baptism, requires: faith in 
God's revelation, and particularly faith in justification 
through the redemption of Christ Jesus; realization of 
guilt and fear of the rigors of God's justice; hope of 
obtaining pardon and favor through the merits of 
the Savior; the beginnings of the love of God; sincere 
repentance; and the entering on a new life by keeping 
the commandments. This is the preparation for those 
who have attained to the age of reason. Of course, 

72 



GOOD WORKS AND MERIT 73 

nothing whatever beyond being baptized, is demanded 
of infants; for God's boundless mercy takes care of 
them entirely. 

Should any one lose the grace of justification ob- 
tained through Baptism by the commission of grievous 
personal sin, he may again and again be restored to 
favor, God moving him to seek it in the worthy re- 
ception of the Sacrament of Penance or Confession. 
For those who are thus restored to God's favor, it is 
not enough to refrain from wrong-doing, to be sorry 
for sin committed, and to enter on newness of life; 
but sacramental confession and absolution and self- 
punishment or at least the determination to have re- 
course thereto, are necessary. Self-punishment, 
through fasting, almsgiving, prayer, and other spiritual 
exercises, is needed, because the remission of eternal 
punishment due to grievous sin committed after Bap- 
tism is not always accompanied by the remission of 
the temporal punishment which is reserved for it : " Be 
mindful therefore from whence thou art fallen; and 
do penance, and do the first works. . . . " Apoc. II. 5. 
The remission of this temporal punishment may be 
secured through the gaining of indulgences, subject 
to God's acceptance of the substituted less difficult self- 
punishment appointed by the Church. 

Good Works. The good works which God de- 
mands from His adopted children are the avoidance of 
what is sinful and the keeping of the commandments 
as is befitting dutiful children. No kind of faith 
alone, or justification alone, or trusting to the merits 



74 CHILDREN OF GOD 

of Christ alone, or belief in the imputation of Christ's 
justice to man, or having been washed in the blood 
of the Lamb, or all of these together, shall save any- 
one who has attained the age of reason. Personal 
good works also are necessary for adults. Faith and 
justification which show forth the charity which re- 
veals itself in keeping the commandments, do save: 
" Not every one that saith to Me, Lord, Lord, shall 
enter into the kingdom of heaven : but he that doth the 
will of My Father Who is in heaven, he shall enter 
into the kingdom of heaven." Matth. VII. 21. " What 
shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, 
but hath not works ? Shall faith be able to save him ? 
And if a brother or sister be naked, and want daily 
food : and one of you say to them : Go in peace, be ye 
warmed and filled; yet giveth them not those things 
that are necessary for the body, what shall it profit? 
So faith also, if it have not works, is dead. But some 
man will say: Thou hast faith, and I have works: 
shew me thy faith without works, and I will shew 
thee, by works, my faith. Thou believest that there 
is one God. Thou dost well; the devils also believe 
and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that 
faith without works is dead ? Was not Abraham our 
father justified by works, offering up Isaac his son 
upon the altar? Seest thou that faith did cooperate 
with his works; and by works faith was made per- 
fect? . . . For even as the body without the spirit is 
dead; so also faith without good works is dead." Jas. 
II. 12-22 and 26. 



GOOD WORKS AND MERIT 75 

The good works of the adopted children of God, 
are the imitation of Christ Jesus in the lowliness, suf- 
ferings and obedience of His mortal human life. He 
is the ideal of Christian living. His doctrine, 
example, and commandments are the standard of con- 
duct for those who live the rehabilitated life of the 
children of God. " For whom He foreknew, He also 
predestinated to be made conformable to the image of 
His Son, that He might be the firstborn amongst many 
brethren." Rom. VIII. 29. 

Kinds of Good Works. The conformity to Jesus 
Christ shows itself in the dutiful conduct of those 
who are acceptable children of God through grace. 
Human conduct is dutiful when it conforms to law. 
It is undutiful, when it is contrary to law. Laws 
are of different grades, but whatever their grade, 
their binding force comes from God: " . . . for 
there is no power but from God and those that are, are 
ordained of God." Rom. XIII. 1. Hence, there are 
different kinds of good works as there are different 
kinds of laws. 

The Laws of God. God has made laws for all 
mankind. The Ten Commandments are a summary 
of these laws. They bind every one, even those who 
have not heard of God's revelation; for they are en- 
graven in the consciences of men : " For whosoever 
have sinned without the law," meaning the Mosaic 
law, "shall perish without the law; and whosoever 
have sinned in the law," again meaning the Mosaic 
law, " shall be judged by the law. For not the hearers 



76 CHILDREN OF GOD 

of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law 
shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, who have 
not the law, do by nature those things that are of the 
law; these having not the law are a law to themselves: 
who show the work of the law written in their hearts, 
their conscience bearing witness to them, and their 
thoughts between themselves accusing, or also defend- 
ing one another, in the day when God shall judge the 
secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gos- 
pel." Rom. II. 12-16. 

The Commandments of Christ Jesus. Then, 
there are the commandments of the Savior as set down 
in the New Testament. They can be summarized as 
the duties of Christian faith, hope, charity, and un- 
worldliness: " Going therefore, teach you all nations; 
. . . Teaching them to observe all things whatso- 
ever I have commanded you. ..." Matth. XXVIII. 
19-20. 

Precepts of the Church. Under the dispensation 
of the Old Testament, were many laws which applied 
exclusively to the Israelites as God's chosen people. 
These do not bind any longer. Their place is largely 
taken by the Precepts of the Church who being the 
spouse of Christ for the family of God's adopted chil- 
dren on earth, has received from the Lord power to 
regulate the conduct of His children in such wise, that 
they may live more worthily of their sublime super- 
natural dignity: " . . . And if he will not hear the 
Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican. 
Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon 



GOOD WORKS AND MERIT 77 

earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever 
you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in 
heaven." Matth. XVIII. 17-18. 

Parental Laws. Parents are divinely appointed 
rulers of the family circle. Their salvation is depen- 
dent on the conscientious exercise of their authority. 
All who make up the family circle are bound in con- 
science to comply with their legitimate rulings: 
" Honor thy father and mother, as the Lord thy God 
hath commanded thee, that thou mayest live a long 
time. ..." Deut. V. 16. 

State Laws. The Apostle of the Gentiles is em- 
phatic in his declaration, that the governments of 
nations have authority from God to rule. Refusal to 
abide by the legislation legitimately enacted by the 
government of one's country draws upon offenders 
the anger and vengeance of the Lord : " Let every soul 
be subject to higher powers: for there is no power 
but from God: and those that are, are ordained of 
God. Therefore he that resisteth the power, resisteth 
the ordinance of God. And they that resist, purchase 
to themselves damnation. For princes are not a terror 
to the good work, but to the evil. . . . For he is 
God's minister to thee, for good. But if thou do that 
which is evil, fear: for he beareth not the sword in 
vain. . . . Wherefore be subject of necessity, not only 
for wrath, but also for conscience' sake." Rom. XIII. 

Only God's authority is absolute. The authority of 
all others to make laws is constitutional The con j 



78 CHILDREN OF GOD 

stitution is not man-made; but is of divine enactment. 
Hence, human legislation which oversteps the limits 
placed by divine ordinance, is not legitimate and does 
not bind in conscience. However, such overstepping 
of divinely set limits must be certain to justify refusal 
to obey. When the overstepping is doubtful, subjects 
are held to the observance of the law. 

The human conduct of God's children to be dutiful, 
must comply with all these different grades of laws. 
Such compliance constitutes the good works which 
are necessary for salvation. • 

Evangelical Counsels. There is another class of 
good works which is not obligatory, and, therefore, not 
necessary. These good works are the Evangelical 
Counsels, also called Counsels of Perfection. These 
optional good works are the honorable chastity of 
the single state, voluntary poverty, and obedience. 
They are three more perfect modes of breaking away 
more completely from the sway of the three concupis- 
cences which either draw men away from God entirely 
or lead up to a less undivided service of God. These 
are the concupiscence of the eyes, the concupiscence 
of the flesh, and the pride of life; of the absorbing 
race for wealth, the worrying cares of family and the 
dominance of sex indulgence, and the selfish ambitions 
for social preeminence. Neither wealth, nor family 
conditions, nor the desire for social or political posi- 
tion, are wicked; when kept within proper bounds, they 
are good and even necessary: but constant experience 
§hows that they lend themselves readily to holding men 



GOOD WORKS AND MERIT 79 

back from following Christ more perfectly. The 
Parable of the Sower was spoken by the Lord, to show 
these hindrances. 

The evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and 
obedience, represent conditions of life. Their spiritual 
value and purpose are to make it easier to devote 
oneself more exclusively to the things which count for 
eternity, to employ oneself more completely in the 
service of God and of the neighbor, and to fit oneself 
more readily into movements for the advancement of 
Christ's kingdom on earth, than can conveniently be 
done by those who have wealth, or are married, or are 
socially and politically exalted. 

If the spiritual value and purpose of the evangeli- 
cal counsels be neglected, committing oneself to the 
conditions of life represented by them has nothing to 
commend it. To remain single, merely to escape 
family burdens, does not endear any one either to man 
or God; and to live a sexually unclean single life is 
a criminal abomination; to be poor, because one is 
too lazy to strive, is a curse for both the individual and 
for society; to shirk social and political responsibilities, 
because they are in many ways irksome, is crude and 
unpardonable sloth. 

But to live the completely chaste single life, in order 
to assume greater burdens for the neighbor and do 
more for God's glory, — to be poor by choice, in order 
to work harder and less encumbered for the advance- 
ment of God's kingdom on earth, — to shun social pre- 
eminence, in order to devote oneself to labors for souls, 



80 CHILDREN OF GOD 

which appeal less to the pride of life, — is in every way 
most commendable. 

But, because such conditions of life require greater 
heroism than is the privilege of the generality of man- 
kind, the Lord did not make them obligatory unto 
salvation for any one. What is more, if their practice 
were to become too general, it would be a detriment to 
the race and to God's kingdom too; for it would lead 
to the extinction of mankind. However, there is no 
danger of its becoming too general, because it calls for 
a great deal more of the grace of God which produces 
the moral grit and spiritual stamina of supernatural 
fortitude than the Lord sees fit to impart to the multi- 
tudes. He reserves this greater amount of grace for 
those whom He calls to devote themselves more ex- 
clusively to His service. 

Hence, the Savior pointed out to the rich young 
ruler two paths to life everlasting; one, that of the 
commandments, and the other, that of the counsels: 
" . . . ' But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the 
■commandments'*. . . . The young man saith to Him: 
' All these have I kept from youth, what else is wanting 
to me? ' Jesus saith to him: ' If thou wilt be perfect, 
go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou 
shalt have treasure in heaven : and come follow Me/ " 
Matth. XIX. 17, 20-21. St. Paul wrote to the Corin- 
thians : " Brethren, let every man, wherein he was 
called, therein abide with God. Now concerning vir- 
gins, I have no commandment of the Lord; but I give 
counsel, as having obtained mercy of the Lord to be 



GOOD WORKS AND MERIT 81 

faithful. I think therefore that this is good for the 
present necessity, that it is good for a man so to be. 
Art thou bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art 
thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But if thou 
take a wife thou hast not sinned. And if a virgin 
marry, she hath not sinned: nevertheless such shall 
have tribulation of the flesh. But I spare you. This 
therefore I say, brethren: the time is short; it re- 
maineth, that they also who have wives, be as if they 
had none; and they that weep, as though they wept 
not; and they that rejoice, as if they rejoiced not; and 
they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they 
that use this world, as if they used it not: for the 
fashion of this world passeth away. But I would have 
you to be without solicitude. He that is without a 
wife, is solicitous for the things that belong to the 
Lord, how he may please God. But he that is with a 
wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he 
may please his wife : and he is divided. And the 
unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the 
things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body 
and in spirit. But she that is married thinketh on the 
things of the world, how she may please her husband. 
And this I speak for your profit: not to cast a snare 
upon you; but for that which is decent, and which 
may give you power to attend upon the Lord, without 
impediment. But if any man think that he seemeth 
dishonored, with regard to his virgin, for that she is 
above the age, and it must so be : let him do what he 
will; he sinneth not, if she marry. For he that hath 



82 CHILDREN OF GOD 

determined being steadfast in his heart, having no ne- 
cessity, but having power of his own will; and hath 
judged this in his heart, to keep his virgin, doth well. 
Therefore, both he that giveth his virgin in marriage, 
doth well; and he that giveth her not, doth better." 
I. Cor. VII. 24-38. These words of the Apostle state 
wherein consists the spiritual value of the evangelical 
counsels and who they are who may embrace the prac- 
tice of them : " power to attend upon the Lord, without 
impediment " and " steadfast in his heart, having no 
necessity, but having power of his own will." 

The Catholic Church is very much intent on pro- 
moting among the largest possible number of her 
members, the organized practice of the evangelical 
counsels. Her varied sisterhoods and brotherhoods 
and many priestly religious associations are evidence 
of this. Whoever affiliates with any of these, pledges 
himself or herself, not only to remain single, but also 
to live the absolutely chaste life, excluding all sexual 
indulgence even that of thought; individually neither 
to possess anything having a money value, nor to 
acquire or dispose of anything as a proprietor; to be 
employed in the work of the kingdom of God, not as 
fancy or preference may suggest, but to do whatever 
may be required by those in authority in the Church, 
provided it be virtuous. Hence, the Catholic 
Church has numerous organizations of men and 
women, ready to work in every field of endeavor for 
the salvation of mankind and for the glory of God 
with that remarkable spirit of personal self-sacrific- 



GOOD WORKS AND MERIT 83 

ing service which even unbelievers cannot help but 
admire. 

Merit. Good works of all kinds and especially 
those of the counsels, performed by those who are 
in the state of grace, merit an increase of grace, of 
virtues, of gifts, and of the eternal reward in store for 
those who persevere to the end in fidelity to the re- 
quirements of the adopted sonship of the children of 
God : " I have fought the good fight, I have finished 
my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest, there 
is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord 
the just judge will render to me in that day : and not 
only to me, but to them also who love his coming." 
II. Tim. IV. 7-8. In His bounty, God promised to 
reward faithful service with a crown of justice; there- 
fore, the reward is a something which in God's own 
way is due to His adopted children for fidelity. 
Hence, also a greater reward for more complete and 
more perfect service. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE CHURCH 

The Church is God's agency for the distribution of 
the fruits of the Savior's redemption. She is the 
spiritual mother of His family of adopted children. 
The Church is the organism of Christ's social body of 
which He is the head and vital principle. They who 
are in the Church are members of this His body: 
" Now you are the body of Christ, and members of 
member." I Cor. I. 24. " But doing the truth in 
charity, we may in all things grow up in Him who is 
the head, even Christ; from Whom the whole body 
being compacted and fitly joined together, by what 
every joint supplieth, according to the operation in the 
measure of tvery part, maketh increase of the body 
unto the edifying of itself in charity." Eph. IV. 15- 
16. Thus too taught Jesus : " Abide in Me, and I in 
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless 
it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you 
abide in Me. I am the vine ; you the branches. . . . 
If any one abide not in Me, he shall be cast forth as 
a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him 
up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth. John 
XV. 4-5- 

84 



THE CHURCH 85 

Had Adam persevered in the state of innocence, 
the mere fact of natural birth would have been ac- 
companied with supernatural spiritual birth into the 
family of God's adopted children. Through their 
creature-parents, children would have received the 
supernatural grace of the adoption of innocence. It 
is not so under Christ's rehabilitation; parents are not 
the channel for the transmission of the graces of His 
redemption: but the Church established by the Lord 
is the divinely constituted channel for such transmis- 
sion. Hence, children are born, not already justified; 
but to be justified. They begin life as " children of 
wrath/' that is as outcasts from God's supernatural 
favors; but through the ministrations of the Church, 
they are born unto God and are admitted to mem- 
bership in the family of His adopted children: 
"... Amen, amen I say unto thee, unless one be 
born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot 
enter into the kingdom of God." John III. 5. 

Wherefore, whilst it is unquestionably true that God 
wishes all men to be saved and none to perish, — and 
that Christ having died for all men, His atonement is 
more than sufficient for the salvation of the entire 
human race; yet His redemption benefits only those 
who either actually accept His offered rehabilitation 
through the divinely appointed ministrations of His 
Church or whose manner of life is such that they 
certainly would have recourse to these ministrations 
if able so to do. — It would flatter human conceit, to be 
allowed to return to God directly through Christ and 



86 CHILDREN OF GOD 

pass the Church by; but the path which leads back to 
the heavenly Father's house, is the one of lowliness 
which induces the elect to accept the spiritual aid of 
the Church. 

These conditions explain why the Scriptures make 
so much of the Church and of her work among men. 
The Apostle writes of himself and his co-workers in 
the ministry of the Church : " Let a man so account 
us as the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of 
the mysteries of God." I. Cor. IV. I. He appeals to 
the union between Christ and His Church as to the 
pattern of the relations which should obtain between 
husband and wife. The Church, the spouse of Christ, 
is the spiritual mother of God's adopted children: 
" Husbands love your wives, as Christ loved the 
Church, and delivered Himself up for it : that He might 
sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the 
word of life : that He present it to Himself a glorious 
Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; 
but that it should be holy, and without blemish . . . 
Because we are members of His body, of His flesh, and 
of His bones. i For this cause shall a man leave 
his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, 
and they shall be two in one flesh.' This is a great 
sacrament; but I speak in Christ and in the Church." 
Eph. V. 25-27 and 30-32. The Lord Jesus Himself 
said : " And if he will not hear them : tell the Church. 
And if he will not hear the Church, let him be to 
thee as a heathen and publican. Amen I say to you, 
whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound in 



THE CHURCH 87 

heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose on earth, 
shall be loosed in heaven." Matth. XVIII. 17-18. 

The Church our Mother. Our Blessed Lord 
spoke of Himself as the bridegroom of the Church: 
"Then came to Him the disciples of John, saying: 
Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Thy dis- 
ciples do not fast ? And Jesus said to them : Can the 
children of the bridegroom mourn as long as the 
bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, 
when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, 
and then they shall fast." Matth. II. 15. In the 
twenty-first chapter of the Apocalypse, the beloved 
disciple wrote : " And I John saw the holy city the 
new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 
prepared as a bride for her husband . . . and then 
came one of the seven angels . . . and spoke with me, 
saying: Come and I will show thee the bride, the 
wife of the Lamb." Such scriptural language explains 
why Catholics speak so much of the Church as mother: 
St. Cyprian wrote : " He cannot have God for his 
Father, who has not the Church for his mother." 
De Unit. c. vi. 

Plainly, only at one's own terrible risk can the 
ministrations of the Church be slighted. It is equiva- 
lent to slighting God's offer of supernatural rehabilita- 
tion. For this slight, the penalty is eternal reproba- 
tion. However to entail the penalty, the slight must be 
conscious. They who fail to have recourse to these 
ministrations through excusable default of sufficient 
knowledge (that is who are invincibly ignorant of the 



88 CHILDREN OF GOD 

obligation to do so), do not consciously slight these 
ministrations. If their life otherwise is what it should 
be, God's boundless mercy will care for them. Catho- 
lics rate such persons as belonging to " the soul of the 
Church/ ' especially if baptized, and as separated only 
from "the body of the Church" or from external 
communion through no fault of theirs. 

The Church not the Mediator. The Church, 
however, is not the mediator between God and man; 
for the Apostle of the Gentiles taught that Christ is 
the only Mediator : " For there is one God, and one 
mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 
I. Tim. II. 5. The Church is only the steward, dis- 
penser, and distributor of the fruits of Christ's redemp- 
tion and mediation. 

The Church God's Steward. Because Catholics 
acknowledge a vast difference between Christ's media- 
tion and the Church's ministrations, are they in a posi- 
tion to accept fully and at the same time consistently, 
His exclusive mediatorship and her divinely ordained 
ministrations. It appears to them most reasonable 
that God should care for His family of adopted chil- 
dren by methods which are most serviceable in His 
management of mankind as the assembly of His 
noblest creatures on earth. It is not derogatory to the 
wisdom, power, and goodness of God, nor to the dig- 
nity of man, to use men for the distribution of His 
favors in the natural order. He employs parents for 
the birth and bringing up of children. He made men 
depend on one another in health and sickness, and in 



THE CHURCH 89 

what concerns food, clothing, housing, employment, 
government, etc. Men do not rebel against this ar- 
rangement of ministrations through human agencies, 
when the lesser gifts of temporal well-being are in- 
volved. There is no talk about having direct and ex- 
clusive recourse to God for these favors. Why should 
there be rebellion against a similar arrangement when 
there is question of the distribution of the greater 
and more precious favors of Christ's redemption and 
mediation? Catholics do not rebel; but are much 
comforted by their belief both in Christ as the only 
mediator between God and men, and in the Church 
as the divinely constituted organism for the distribu- 
tion of the fruits of Christ's redemption. It is the 
only fully satisfactory explanation for the very ex- 
istence of the Church. 

The Church an Organism. Catholics regard the 
Church as a supernatural organism, and not simply 
as a voluntary social religious organization. An organ- 
ism is a vitality of which God is the author. Organiza- 
tion is largely man-made. In organization there is 
much that is optional; but not so in what pertains to 
organism. Nations may change their organization 
from monarchy to democracy and from democracy to 
imperialism, and still prosper; but the organism of 
social life whether natural or supernatural cannot be 
tampered with by men without courting ruin. History 
amply proves both parts of this statement. In colonial 
days, our country was part of a monarchy. It harmed 
neither the country nor the people to break away from 



90 CHILDREN OF GOD 

England and establish the American democracy; on 
the contrary, much good came from it But when 
social reformers of the type of Rousseau in France, of 
Hobbes in England, and of Machiavelli in Italy, labored 
only too successfully to substitute for the natural 
organism of the social body man-planned organization, 
they laid the foundations whereon since have been 
built socialism, industrialism, autocracy, military 
despotism, Bolshevikism, etc. 

The religious reformers of the sixteenth century 
were not satisfied with the organism of the Church as 
Christ had made it. They organized churches to 
suit their fancies. The outcome of their tampering 
with God's arrangement was the springing into exis^ 
tence of all manner of churches having no organic 
vitality and controlled by national governments, much 
the same as any other department of the state, such 
as that of war, agriculture, finances, etc. W. A. 
Philips, a non-Catholic, apparently not overfavorable 
to Catholics, writes : " Their " (the reformers') " ob-. 
ject had been to purify the Church of medieval ac-? 
cretions, and to restore the primitive model in thq 
light of the new learning; the idea of rival ' churches ' 
differing in their fundamental doctrines and in their 
principles of organization, existing side by side, was 
as abhorrent to them as to the most rigid partisan of 
Roman centralization. The actual divisions of West- 
ern Christendom are the outcome, less of the purely 
religious influences of the Reformation period than of 
the political forces with which they were associated 



THE CHURCH 91 

and confused. When it became clear that the idea of 
doctrinal change could find no acceptance at Rome, the 
Reformers appealed to the divine authority of the civil 
power against that of the popes; and princes within 
their several states succeeded, as the result of purely 
political struggles and combinations, in establishing* 
the form of religion best suited to their convictions 
or their policy. Thus over a great part of Europe 
the Catholic Church was split up into territorial or 
national churches, which, whatever the theoretical ties 
which bound them together, were in fact separate or- 
ganizations, tending ever more and more to become 
isolated and self-contained units with no formal inter- 
communion, and as the rivalries of nationalities grew, 
with increasingly little, even of intercommunication. 
. . . The Protestant churches established on the con- 
tinent, even where — as in the case of the Lutherans — 
they approximate more closely than the official 
Anglican Church to Roman doctrine and practice, 
make no such claim " (' to be considered sole inheritor 
of the pre-Reformation Church '). " The Bible is for 
them the real source of authority in doctrine; their 
organization is part and parcel of that of the state. 
They are, in fact, the state in its religious aspect, and 
as such are territorial or national, not Catholic. The 
tendency has been common in the East also, where 
with the growth of racial rivalries the Orthodox 
Church has split into a series of national churches, 
holding the same faith but independent as to organiza- 
tion. A yet further development of comparatively 



92 CHILDREN OF GOD 

recent growth, has been the formation of what are 
now commonly called in England the ' free churches/ 
These represent a theory of the Church practically 
unknown to the Reformers, and only reached through 
the necessity for discovering a logical basis for the 
communities of conscientious dissidents from the es-* 
tablished churches. According to this the Catholic 
Church is not a visibly organized body, but the sum 
of all ' faithful people 9 throughout the world, who 
group themselves in churches modeled according to 
their convictions or needs. For the organization of 
these churches no divine sanction is claimed, though all 
are theoretically modeled on the lines laid down in 
the Christian Scriptures. It follows that while in the 
traditional Church, with its claim to an unbroken 
descent from a divine original, the individual is subor- 
dinate to the Church, in the 'free churches ' the 
Church is in a certain sense secondary to the individual. 
The believer may pass from one community to another 
without imperiling his spiritual life, or even establish 
a new church without necessarily incurring the re- 
proach of schism. From this theory, powerful in 
Great Britain and her colonies, supreme in the United 
States of America, has resulted an enormous multipli- 
cation of sects." Ency. Brit., Vol. VL, pages 344- 

345. 

The difference of attitude, therefore, between 

Protestants and Catholics towards the Church, is most 

pronounced. Catholics believe that the Church is the 

divinely constituted organism of ministrations for the 



THE CHURCH 93 

distribution of the fruits of Christ's redemption and 
mediation, which ministrations must be accepted by all 
who sincerely seek the salvation of God's adopted chil- 
dren. The bulk of Protestants reject this belief as 
derogatory to the mediatorship of Christ Jesus. They 
deny to the Church definitive teaching authority, and 
so limit her governing powers that she is anything but 
supreme in matters of religion. They attach little or 
no importance to her sacramental ministry. They treat 
her worship as optional both in theory and in prac- 
tice. Hence, under the Protestant system of religion, 
it is hardly intelligible why there should be a Church 
at all; for according to its theory, the Church has 
nothing to give, which cannot be gotten without her. 
It rejects belief in the Church as the divinely ap- 
pointed intermediary between God and mankind. 

The Church and Prosperity, Often enough the 
charge is made against the Catholic Church that 
she does not sufficiently promote temporal welfare, 
meaning thereby material prosperity. This charge is 
based on a misconception of the functions of the 
Church. Christ's mission among men was not the 
promotion of material prosperity, at least not for its 
own sake. He did not figure as an inventor of pro- 
ductive or of labor-saving machinery, as a financier, 
as an industrialist, or as an economist. He declared 
emphatically that the new kingdom which He came to 
establish, is not of this world. He even taught that 
the rush for great material prosperity is apt to be 
much of a hindrance to reaping the full benefits of the 



94 CHILDREN OF GOD 

new order of conditions which He had come to in- 
augurate : " Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall 
hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again 
I say to you : It is easier for a camel to pass through 
the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into 
the kingdom of heaven. And when they had heard 
this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: Who 
then can be saved ? And Jesus beholding, said to them : 
With man this is impossible: but with God all things 
are possible." Matth. XIX. 23-26. History bears 
out the Master's statement. In the midst of much 
temporal prosperity only too many are unmindful of 
the Almighty; hence, they fail to obtain from Him 
the aid necessary to use their temporal well-being as 
a means unto eternal salvation. But be this as it may, 
since the promotion of material prosperity was not the 
purpose of Christ's mission and labors, so neither is it 
the distinctive work assigned to His Church. Her 
work is to carry into effect what He planned and or- 
dained. It is to be expected that a reasonable amount 
of earthly prosperity will come to nations who sincerely 
and consistently conform to Christ's plans and accept 
the ministrations of the Church; but this will be more 
a collateral result than a distinctively worked-for 
consequence of His redemption and of her ministry. 
The State and Prosperity, The promotion of 
temporal prosperity of peoples is the distinctive work 
of States and their governments. Failure to secure 
it can be traced to bad government and to the neglect 
of the social, moral, and spiritual standards of indi- 



THE CHURCH 95 

vidual and corporate conduct proclaimed by Christ 
and consistently preached by His Church in all ages. 
The evils which oppress mankind today, proceed from 
the apostasy of nations and chiefly of their rulers from 
Christ and His Church. The gospel of greed, lust 
for sensuous pleasures, wanton selfishness, autocracy, 
militarism, and world-power, has been substituted for 
His gospel of " thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy- 
self " and " Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His 
justice " and all the necessary things of a reasonably 
prosperous earthly life shall be added unto you. The 
cruel substitution is only too generally justified by the 
acceptance of the horrid Darwinian theories of the 
struggle for existence and of the survival of the 
fittest. 

The Church and the State. As a necessary 
sequence of these beliefs, Catholics hold firmly to the 
doctrine of two supreme governments, — two suprema- 
cies : one is that of the State whose business is to care 
for the civil and temporal well-being of the nation; 
the other is that of the Church whose mission is to 
minister to the spiritual and supernatural well-being of 
God's family of adopted children still dwelling in 
mortal flesh. Between them there need not be and 
should not be any clash; for their spheres of activity 
move in different circles in and about man's life. Har- 
mony and mutual cooperation between them are bound 
to secure for mankind the greatest amount of duly 
coordinated earthly and supernatural well-being. Dis- 
agreements and antagonism cannot fail to be exceed- 



96 CHILDREN OF GOD 

ingly harmful to both State and Church, if anything 
more to the former than to the latter. 

Unfortunately the relations of Church and State 
have too often been antagonistic, not because such was 
the wish of the people but because the men in whom 
the supreme authority was vested were not content to 
confine their activities within their respective spheres 
of operation. History proves that civil governments 
have ordinarily been the trespassers. It is so today. It 
is easy for the State to make its trespass effective, be- 
cause it has at its disposal the machinery of physical 
compulsion, represented by taxation, sequestration, 
arms, etc.; but the Church has at her disposal only 
spiritual resources. Conflicts between the two are very 
much akin to the condition brought out by the fable 
of the lamb and the wolf. Christ Jesus Himself fore- 
told that this would be the position of His Church: 
" Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. 
Be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves. 
But beware of men. For they will deliver you up in 
councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. 
And you will be brought before governors, and before 
kings for My sake, for a testimony to them and to the 
Gentiles : but when they shall deliver you up, take no 
thought how or what to speak: for it shall be given 
you in that hour what to speak. For it is not you that 
speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in 
you. The brother also shall deliver up the brother to 
death, and the father the son, and the children shall 

rise up against their parents, and shall put them to 



THE CHURCH 97 

death. And you shall be hated by all men for My 
name's sake : but he that shall persevere unto the end, 
he shall be saved. And when they shall persecute 
you in this city, flee to another. Amen I say to you, 
you shall not finish all the cities of Israel, till the Son 
of man come. The disciple is not above the master, 
nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the 
disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as 
his lord. If they have called the goodman of the 
house Beelzebub, how much more them of his house- 
hold? Therefore fear them not. . . . " Matth. X. 16- 

26. 

Authority not Absolute. Though the authority 
of State and Church is supreme, each in its respective 
sphere, the authority of neither is absolute. No au- 
thority vested in man is absolute. It is constitutional 
in the sense that to be legitimate it must conform to 
what God has ordained. The constitution to which 
the exercise of all authority must conform is the moral 
law written in man's conscience and the much higher 
law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Besides this God- 
given constitution, States may draw up their own 
civic constitutions, such as the federal constitution for 
the United States and a state constitution for Texas. 
But these civic constitutions to be sinless and binding 
in conscience, must be in agreement with the God- 
given constitution. So, too, may the Church enact dis- 
ciplinary legislation for her members, to meet the many 
varying requirements of her world-work for the super- 
natural benefit of mankind; but she is not at 



98 CHILDREN OF GOD 

liberty to depart in anything from her God-given con- 
stitution. What a pity that so many men in civic 
authority hold to the Machiavellian theory of the des- 
potic absolutism of national governments! Hence, the 
misery of nations. Great as man is, he is too small 
to govern the social body without the guidance of 
God's law as proclaimed by His Church. 






CHAPTER XXII 

MINISTRATIONS OF THE CHURCH 

Since so much is dependent on the Church in the 
work of supernatural rehabilitation, it is of the utmost 
importance to know what are these ministrations. 
They are chiefly: preaching of the Gospel; conducting 
the worship of the children of God; administering the 
Sacraments; and the spiritual government of God's 
family on earth. 

Preaching. God might reveal by private inspira- 
tion and interpretation or otherwise, to every man in- 
dividually the Gospel of Redemption, if He so willed; 
but all available evidence proves that such was not 
and is not His will. He commissioned the Church 
to preach Christ's Gospel of Salvation to all men 
until the end of time, and He ordained that all men 
should receive the Gospel of Salvation from Him, 
not immediately, but through the preaching of the 
Church by the mouth of her ministers : " And the 
eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the moun- 
tain where Jesus had appointed them. And seeing 
Him they adored. And Jesus coming, spoke to them, 
saying: All power is given to Me in heaven and in 
earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations ; baptizing 
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 

99 



100 CHILDREN OF GOD 

of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all 
things whatsoever I have commanded you: and be- 
hold I am with you all days, even to the consummation 
of the world." Matth. XVIII. 16-20. And in the 
Gospel of St. Mark XVI. 15-16: "And He said to 
them: Go ye into the whole world, and preach the 
gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is 
baptized, shall be saved : but he that believeth not shall 
be condemned. ,, 

The study and devout reading of the Bible by all, 
is most commendable. It is necessary for those who 
are called to the ministry of the word. However, it 
is neither the only nor even the chief divinely appointed 
way for bringing to the knowledge of mankind God's 
Gospel for the rehabilitation of the children of men. 
Preaching and teaching by the living voice of the 
Church are the appointed way : " For the Scripture 
saith : Whosoever believeth in Him, shall not be con- 
founded. For there is no distinction of Jew and 
Greek : for the same Lord is over all, rich unto all that 
call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the 
Lord, shall be saved. How then shall they call on 
Him, in Whom they have not believed? Or how 
shall they believe in Him, of Whom they have not 
heard ? And how shall they hear, without a preacher ? 
And how shall they preach unless they be sent, as it 
is written : ' How beautiful are the tidings of good 
things/ But all do not obey the gospel. For Isaias 
saith : * Lord, who hath believed our report ? ' Faith 
then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of 



MINISTRATIONS OF THE CHURCH 101 

Christ. But I say: Have they not heard? Yes, 
verily, ' Their sound hath gone forth into all the 
earth, and their words unto the ends of the whole 
world.' " Rom. X. 11-18. 

Worship. Dutiful and loving social relations of 
man with his Creator, necessarily involve worship. 
How much more, then, must not worship accompany 
the social relations of rehabilitated man with God as 
his Father. It is not easily understood, how any one 
believing in God can imagine worship to be purely 
optional. Catholics do not indulge in such an un- 
healthy fancy. Hence, worship forms such a large 
part of the ministrations of the Catholic Church and 
of the devotional life of her members. 

The worship of Catholics circles around the Real 
Presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist 
and in the Sacrifice of the Mass. Other names for 
this worship are: "The Lord's Supper," — "The 
Breaking of Bread/' — " The Sacrifice of the Mass," 
— " The Sacrifice of the Altar," — also simply and very 
often " The Mass,"—" Holy Communion," etc. The 
correct use of these names is dependent on the phases 
of the Eucharistic worship one would designate. 

The Mass. The Mass is the sacrificial worship 
foretold by the Prophet Malachias : " From the rising 
of the sun even to the going down, My name is great 
among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacri- 
fice, and there is offered to My name a clean oblation : 
for My name is great among the Gentiles, saith the 
Lord of Hosts." I. 11. 



102 CHILDREN OF GOD 

The Mass is also the distinctively Christian sacri- 
ficial worship. Jesus Himself is the true and only 
High-Priest. The Victim offered is His own glorified 
Body and Blood. Because the presence of Jesus as 
Priest and Victim is real, the Mass is an intensely 
real sacrifice; for the Blessed Savior truly continues 
the oblation of Himself for the salvation of man- 
kind. 

Cardinal Manning states this Catholic belief beauti- 
fully : " When He (Jesus) said, ' This is My Body/ 
and ' This is My Blood/ He instituted the Holy 
Sacrifice ; and when He said, ' Do this in commemora- 
tion of Me/ He consecrated His Apostles to be priests, 
to offer for ever the same sacrifice of Himself. 
Therefore, what the Church offers, day by day, is the 
continuance of that same divine act which Jesus at 
that hour began. It is nothing new, nothing distinct 
from it, nothing added to it, for in itself it was per- 
fect — a divine sacrifice admitting of no addition. The 
Sacrifice of the Altar is the same sacrifice prolonged 
for ever. He who offered Himself then offers Him- 
self now. He offered Himself then by His own hands; 
He offers Himself now by the hands of His priest- 
hood. There is now no shedding of blood — that was 
accomplished once for all upon Calvary. The action 
of the Last Supper looked onward to that action on 
Calvary, as the action of the Holy Mass looks back- 
ward upon it. As the shadow is cast by the rising 
sun towards the west, and as the shadow is cast by the 
setting sun towards the east, so the Holy Mass is, I 



MINISTRATIONS OF THE CHURCH 103 

may say, the shadow of Calvary, but it is also the 
reality. That which was done in the Paschal Supper 
in the guest-chamber, and that which is done upon 
the altar in the Holy Mass, is one and the same act — • 
the offering of Jesus Christ Himself, the true, proper, 
propitiatory, and only sacrifice for the sin of the 
world. . . . It is indeed a commemoration, because 
it is the perpetual visible memorial of a reality; and it 
is also the reality itself, because it is His Body and 
Blood; that is, it is the Real Presence of Jesus, God 
and man. It is also the application of His death and 
Passion to the souls of those who believe." The 
Glories of the Sacred Heart, V. Justly, therefore, is 
the Mass " a showing of the death of Lord until He 
come." I. Cor. XL 19: and offering of the Mass and 
assistance thereat, are compliance with the Lord's in- 
junction : " Do this for a commemoration of Me." 
Luke XXII. 19. 

Because Christ Jesus is really present both as 
Priest and Victim and truly offers Himself as an 
oblation, is the Mass a real sacrifice, independently of 
the devotional acts of the worshippers. It is, conse- 
quently, immensely more than a mere personal re- 
membrance of the Lord's death. 

Catholics, furthermore, believe that the glorified 
Christ remains physically under the appearances of the 
bread and wine after Consecration, as long as these 
appearances retain their natural identity. Hence, the 
practice of keeping the Blessed Sacrament perma- 
nently in their churches. Wherefore, their places of 



104 CHILDREN OP GOD 

worship are truly " the house of God," and not simply 
" meeting houses." 

Any one who properly understands the teaching of 
the Church anent the Real Presence of Christ Jesus 
in the Sacrament and Sacrifice of the Altar, cannot 
fail to give Catholics credit for consistency in their 
conduct towards the Blessed Sacrament, both in their 
individual devotions and in their public worship. The 
sacramental and sacrificial symbols of bread and wine 
are the veil hiding from the worshipers the glorified 
Christ physically present under the symbols. He is 
present as High-priest, Victim, and the Bread which 
came down from heaven. Therefore, is the conduct 
of Catholics towards what the Lord's Supper stands 
for to them, very different from that of non-Catholic 
Christians of the West. They strive to behave to- 
wards Him in the Eucharist as they would were He 
to appear in visible form among them. The Apostles 
worshiped Christ dwelling among them in mortal 
flesh, as the Only Begotten Son of the Most High 
God, made man. Catholics worship the same Christ 
but glorified, dwelling physically among them in His 
Eucharistic Presence. This faith explains their rev- 
erential behavior in their churches, — their delight in 
elaborate ceremonial about the altar, — their rejoicing 
in processions of the Blessed Sacrament, — their fre- 
quent private visits to the altar where the Bread of 
the Last Supper is kept, speaking to Jesus as the first- 
born of God's family of adopted children, telling Him 
their sorrows, consulting Him in their doubts, plead- 



MINISTRATIONS OF THE CHURCH 105 

ing with Him to care for them in all their needs, 
thanking Him for His many favors, and commending 
to His mercy all for whom He died the death of the 
cross. 

The correctness of these Catholics beliefs is guar- 
anteed by passages like the following from the Bible : 
" I am the living bread which came down from 
heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live 
forever; and the bread that I will give, is My flesh, 
for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove 
among themselves, saying : How can this man give us 
His flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them: Amen, 
amen I say unto you : Except you eat the flesh of the 
Son of man, and drink His blood, you shall not have 
life in you. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh 
My blood, hath everlasting life : and I will raise him 
up in the last day. For My flesh is food indeed : and 
My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, 
and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me, and I in him. 
As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the 
Father, so he that eateth Me, the same also shall live 
by Me. This is the bread that came down from 
heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are 
dead. He that eateth this bread shall live forever. 
These things He said teaching in the synagogue, in 
Capharnum. Many therefore of His disciples, hear- 
ing it, said: This saying is hard, and who can hear 
it? But Jesus, knowing in Himself, that His disci- 
ples murmured at this, said to them : Doth this scan- 
dalize you? If then you shall see the Son of man 



106 CHILDREN OF GOD 

ascend up where He was before? It is the spirit that 
quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing. The words 
that I have spoken to you, are spirit and life. But 
there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus 
knew from the beginning who they were that did not 
believe, and who he was, that would betray Him. And 
He said : Therefore did I say to you, that no man can 
come to Me, unless it be given him by the Father. 
After this many of His disciples went back; and 
walked no more with Him. Then Jesus said to the 
twelve : Will you also go away ? And Simon Peter 
answered Him: Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou 
hast the words of eternal life. And we have believed 
and have known that Thou art the Christ, the Son 
of God." John VI. 51-70. — And these words of the 
institution : " For I have received from the Lord that 
which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, 
the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread, 
and giving thanks, broke, and said : Take ye, and eat : 
This is My body, which shall be delivered for you: 
this do for the commemoration of Me. In like manner 
also the chalice, after He had supped, saying: This 
chalice is the new testament in My blood : this do ye, 
as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration 
of Me. For as often as you shall eat this bread, and 
drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord 
until He come. Therefore whosoever shall eat this 
bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, 
shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the 
Lord. But let a man prove himself : and so let him 



MINISTRATIONS OF THE CHURCH 107 

eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he 
that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drink- 
eth judgment to himself, not discerning the body of 
the Lord." I Cor. XL 23-29. 

What Catholics believe and practice today was the 
faith of the Christian world until the religious dis- 
ruption inaugurated by the so-called Reformation. 
Nearly all non-Catholic Christian churches which 
broke away from the unity of the Church before the 
days of Martin Luther still so believe and practise. 
The only ones to protest against this universal Chris- 
tian belief prior to the entrance of Protestantism as a 
maker of history, were a few individuals and a few 
short-lived sects. — But what teaching of Christ has 
not been thus questioned ? 

Government. Government is necessary for every 
social body. The family without government must be 
a failure. A commonwealth not guided by wise and 
strong rulers, is bound to end in anarchy. — The Lord 
Jesus compared the assembly of God's adopted chil- 
dren to a family and a kingdom. The Church is both 
this family and this kingdom. Wherefore, the Church 
must also minister unto the adopted children of God 
by the divinely appointed functions of the spiritual 
government established by Him. 

It is well known how thoroughly the government 
of the Church is organized, and how, by reason thereof, 
it is helpful in preserving and intensifying the spiritual 
vitality of Catholics in their endeavor to live up to 
the requirements of Christ's Gospel of redemption and 



108 CHILDREN OF GOD 

rehabilitation. The Church must preach this gospel 
no less to governments than to individual citizens all 
the world over. She cannot do less and be true to 
her divinely given mission. — She does not, however, 
aspire to control civic governments in the management 
of the temporal affairs of commonwealths, beyond 
inculcating the divine standards to which rulers are 
in conscience bound to conform as much as indi- 
vidual citizens. Are they not more bound so to 
conform ? 

The governing authority of the Church is vested 
in Bishops and in the Pope, chiefly in the latter, as 
appears from the following passages of the New 
Testament : " Take heed to yourselves, and to the 
whole flock, wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you 
bishops, to rule the church of God, which He hath 
purchased with His blood." Acts. XX. 28. And 
Jesus said to Simon Peter, " And I say to thee : That 
thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build My 
Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom 
of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon 
earth, it shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever 
thou shalt loose on earth it shall be loosed in heaven. ,, 
Matth. XVI. 18-19. — " Peter" is the name which 
Jesus gave to Simon. — The meaning of " Peter " is 
rock. St. Peter was the first Pope of Rome. 

Sacraments. A most effective ministration of the 
Church is through the Sacraments; for these, of them- 
selves by special divine action, impart or increase the 



MINISTRATIONS OF THE CHURCH 109 

sanctifying grace of the adopted children of God, and 
at the same time they impart or increase all the other 
gifts God has prepared for the sanctification of His 
children. But more on this subject presently. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

THE SACRAMENTS 

The Sacraments are, at one and the same time, evi- 
dences of God's bounteous mercy and an ordeal for 
testing man's readiness to submit in a spirit of low- 
liness to the Lord's plans; for through them, God 
both bestows such wondrous supernatural gifts and 
makes man spiritually dependent on material symbols. 
Haughty human conceit may rebel; but whoever sin- 
cerely desires restoration to the privileges of the 
adopted sonship of God's elect, must obtain it through 
the Sacraments. The lowly obtain it; but they who 
prefer the conceits of their own wisdom shall remain 
what they are, " children of wrath " : for " His mercy 
is from generation unto generation to them that fear 
Him. He hath showed might in His arm; He hath 
scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He 
hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath 
exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with 
good things; and the rich He hath sent away empty." 
Luke I. 50-53. 

A Sacrament according to Catholic belief is an out- 
ward sign instituted by the Lord Jesus for the trans- 
mission of grace from on high, God is the author 

110 



THE SACRAMENTS 111 

and giver of the grace, and the Sacraments are the 
instruments or channels which He uses for imparting 
this same grace. 

The sign is some object open to sense-perception, 
which is accompanied by the speaking of appointed 
words by a duly qualified person whose intention is 
to do what Christ ordained. Thus in Baptism : water 
and the pouring of the same are the object or matter; 
the words, " I baptize thee in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost/' are the ap- 
pointed words or form; the ministrant's intention 
should be to perform the rite for the purpose which 
the Lord had in mind. All three elements are neces- 
sary. Failure to place any one of them would result 
in invalidating the Sacrament. The grace of Baptism 
is spiritual regeneration unto the adopted sonship of 
God's elect. 

The Sacraments, by power divinely imparted to 
them, confer the supernatural favors for which they 
were instituted. The only bar to their action is re- 
ceiving them in a grievously sinful manner. Where- 
fore, the effectiveness of the Sacraments is not due to 
the subjective piety of the recipient or of the min- 
istrant, as is the case in other devotional practices. 
No doubt, worthier subjective dispositions will result 
in greater spiritual benefit to the recipient; but this 
will be by way of removing hindrances to the action 
of the Sacraments. — The ministrant's sinfulness does 
not impede their effectiveness, because he is a dis- 
penser of God's gifts and not of his own. The Lord 



112 CHILDREN OF GOD 

does not permit his wickedness to withhold from 
others the benefits of the Sacraments received. 

The Sacraments either impart sanctifying grace or 
they increase it in souls who are already justified. But 
besides this grace which is common to them all, each 
Sacrament confers grace which is distinctively its own. 
In Baptism, it is spiritual regeneration; — in Confirma- 
tion it is vigorous loyalty in professing the faith; — 
in the Eucharist or Holy Communion it is spiritual 
nourishment; — in Penance it is the pardon of sin com- 
mitted after Baptism and strength against future 
temptation; — in Extreme Unction or the Last Anoint- 
ing, it is aid for a happy death, remission of sin, and 
restoration to health, should this last be for the 
spiritual welfare of the patient; — in Holy Orders it 
is the powers of the priesthood and the aids to live 
the priestly life worthily; — in Matrimony it is helps 
which foster Christian love, chastity and forbearance 
between husband and wife, and special assistance in 
the Christian bringing up of children. 

The Catholic Church teaches that the Lord insti- 
tuted seven sacraments. They are the ones mentioned 
in the preceding paragraph. They are not equally 
necessary for all. All who wish to be saved must be 
baptized, when Baptism is possible. All adults should 
be confirmed, should receive Holy Communion, and 
should be anointed in sickness which is unto death. 
All who relapse into grievous sin after Baptism, need 
the Sacrament of Penance. Holy Orders is only for 
the comparatively few who are called to the priest- 



THE SACRAMENTS 113 

hood. Matrimony is for the many, but there is no 
law requiring every one to marry. 

Baptism. The first and most necessary of all the 
Sacraments is Baptism; for it is the Sacrament of 
actual rehabilitation or of regeneration. It is the 
divinely appointed rite for admission to God's family 
of adopted children. Only they who are baptized can 
receive the other Sacraments. In His conversation 
with Nicodemus, the Lord Jesus very emphatically 
declared its necessity: "And there was a man of the 
Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 
This man came to Jesus by night, and said to Him: 
Rabbi, we know that Thou art come a teacher from 
God ; for no man can do these signs which Thou dost, 
unless God be with him. Jesus answered, and said to 
him : Amen, amen I say to thee, unless one be born 
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus 
saith to Him : How can a man be born when he is 
old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's 
womb, and be born again? Jesus answered: Amen, 
amen I say to thee, unless one be born again of 
water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter the king- 
dom of God. That which is born of the flesh, is 
flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit." 
John III, 1-6. 

The supernatural favors conferred by Baptism are : 
— purification from original sin and all personal sin 
committed up to the time of its reception; — the remis- 
sion of all penalty due to sin, both original and per- 
sonal; — the infusion of sanctifying grace, of the 



114 CHILDREN OP GOD 

supernatural habits of faith, hope, charity, of the 
moral virtues, and of the gifts of the Holy Ghost. 
The nucleus whence all these favors flow is sanctify- 
ing grace, also called justifying grace and the grace 
of adoption. These supernatural favors are rooted 
in the soul or its powers, and become subjective con- 
ditions of the life of the recipient. They are not 
simply imputations of the sanctity and merits of 
Christ, as some non-Catholics would have it. 

What the sacramental sign of Baptism is has been 
stated above. The ministrant of valid Baptism is any 
one who is able to perform the rite rationally, intend- 
ing thereby to do what Christ had in mind when He 
instituted the sacrament. Even infidels and atheists 
can validly baptize. The reason for this latitude in 
the case of the ministrant is the fact that Baptism in 
water and the Holy Ghost is so very necessary for the 
spiritual regeneration unto spiritual sonship of God. 
This same necessity is the cause why the Catholic 
Church insists so forcibly on baptizing infants; for 
until they are baptized they are not children of God, 
but only creatures of God. This, however, is far from 
saying that unbaptized children dying in infancy, are 
condemned to the hell-fire of the damned. The Church 
does not tolerate a doctrine so horrid ! Condemnation 
to hell-fire is for personal grievous sin only. Infants, 
and the mentally unbalanced whilst thus afflicted, can- 
not incur the guilt of personal sin. 

The Catholic Church accepts as valid three modes 
of baptizing with water. They are; sprinkling, pour- 



THE SACRAMENTS 115 

ing, and dipping or immersion. She has practiced all 
three. She adopts the one best suited to circum- 
stances. 

For certain emergencies the Church recognizes two 
substitutes for Baptism in water: one is that of De- 
sire; the other is that of Blood. The Baptism of 
desire may take two forms; one of explicit or for- 
mulated desire, and the other of implicit or implied 
desire. Catechumens, that is candidates for Baptism 
in water, who cannot be baptized before death, have 
the former; the other obtains in regard to adults to 
whom the Gospel has not been sufficiently preached, 
but whose uprightness of life is so thorough that they 
surely would accept Christ's Gospel and His Baptism, 
if the same were made known to them. In both cases 
perfect sorrow for sin or a perfect love of God, would 
take the place of Baptism properly so called. The 
Baptism of Blood is suffering martyrdom for the faith 
of Christ by those who cannot be baptized in water 
and the Holy Ghost. Besides the traditional teaching 
of the Church, scriptural passages like the following 
are warrants for belief in these substitutes. — ". . . 
If any one love Me, he will keep My word, and My 
Father, will love him, and We will come to him, and 
will make Our abode with him." John XIV. 23. — 
" But if the wicked do penance for all his sins which 
he hath committed, and keep all My commandments, 
and do judgment, and justice, living he shall live, and 
shall not die." Ezech. XVIII. 21 — " Every one there- 
fore that shall confess Me before men, I will con- 



116 CHILDREN OF GOD 

fess him before My Father Who is in heaven." 
Matth. X. 32. 

Confirmation. The outward sign of the Sacra- 
ments of Confirmation is anointing the forehead of 
the candidate with a mixture of oil and balsam in 
the form of a cross, and the imposing of hands by the 
ministrant. The words which accompany this rite 
are : " I sign thee with the sign of the cross, and con- 
firm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
Amen." The mixture of olive oil and balsam, con- 
secrated by the Bishop annually on Holy Thursday, is 
called Holy Chrism or simply Chrism. 

The ordinary ministrant of Confirmation is the 
Bishop. However, priests may be delegated by the 
Pope to administer it. Priests who labor among the 
heathen often receive this delegation when the need 
for it appears sufficient to the Pope. 

Confirmation is, as it were, the completion of Bap- 
tism. For this reason it may be conferred on baptized 
infants. The Church, however, wishes that it be not 
conferred until children have reached the age of rea- 
son, unless in cases when owing to the difficulty of 
getting to a ministrant, it might have to be deferred 
until late in life. 

Whilst Confirmation is not nearly as necessary as 
Baptism ; for salvation without it is possible : yet Cath- 
olics who deserve the name never fail to receive it, 
when possible. For they understand that the intense 
loyalty to the faith for which the members of the 



THE SACRAMENTS 117 

Church are so noted, is largely due to the special grace 
mparted by this Sacrament. 

The first record of the administration of Confirma- 
;ion is found in chapter VIII., of the Acts of the 
\postles; verses 14-17: '"Now when the Apostles 
vho were in Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had 
•eceived the word of God, they sent unto them Peter 
md John. Who, when they were come, prayed for 
:hem, that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For 
He was not as yet come upon any of them; but they 
vere only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 
\nd they laid their hands upon them, and they re- 
reived the Holy Ghost." 

Holy Communion. The real presence of the Lord 
[esus Himself under the appearances of bread and 
vine after the consecration of the Mass is the Sacra- 
nent which is a never failing source of new joy to 
Catholic hearts. It is the most touching fulfilment of 
His promise to be with His followers to the end of 
time; for through the real presence He not only 
iwells in the tabernacle of Catholic churches, but He 
also abides lovingly in the heart of every believer who 
receives Holy Communion worthily. 

Bread made of wheat and wine made from grapes 
are the matter of the Sacrament. Speaking the words 
spoken by the Lord Jesus at the Last Supper over the 
bread and wine, is the formulary of Consecration. 
The ministrant is a duly ordained priest who speaks 
the appointed words over the bread and wine, mean- 
ing to do what Christ ordained. The special sacra- 



118 CHILDREN OF GOD 

mental grace of Holy Communion is the spiritual 
nourishment to be obtained by eating the Bread which 
came down from heaven. This Bread is Jesus Him- 
self, concealed under the appearance of bread and 
wine : " I am the living bread which came down from 
heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live 
for ever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh 
for the life of the world. ,, John, VI. 51-52. 

By the power of God through the ministry of the 
consecrating priest, the substance of the bread is 
changed into Christ's glorified Body, and the sub- 
stance of the wine is changed into His glorified Blood, 
only the accidents or appearances of the bread and 
wine remaining. It would, however, be an error to 
suppose that Christ's Flesh alone is present under the 
appearances of the bread, and His Blood alone under 
the appearances of the wine; for such an interpreta- 
tion would reduce the Christ of the Eucharist to the 
conditions of a corpse. This cannot be, He is alive 
under both appearances; therefore, under both ap- 
pearances the entire Christ as God and Man, is pres- 
ent, — His Body, His Blood, His Soul, His Divinity 
and Personality. 

The Catholic Church believes in and practises as 
she judges best according to circumstances, Com- 
munion under One Kind or Communion under Both 
kinds. But she also teaches that they who com- 
municate under the appearances of bread alone, re- 
ceive no less than they who drink of the chalice 
also; for the Christ is alive and undivided under 



THE SACRAMENTS 119 

both kinds of appearances; for not even in Holy- 
Communion is He a dead Christ. — However, priests 
who offer the Sacrifice of the Mass, must communi- 
cate under Both Kinds: not that it is necessary for 
Holy Communion, but because it is required by the 
Eucharistic sacrifice which they offer. At other times, 
they receive under One Kind only, the same as other 
faithful. 

To be a Catholic in good standing in the Church, 
one of the requirements is to receive Holy Com- 
munion at least once a year, and this during the time 
designated for the reception of " the Easter Com- 
munion/' — However, all are urged to communicate 
often, even daily when possible. 

Penance. The commission of sin is the saddest 
fact and greatest misfortune of life! Yet there is so 
much of it! Even they who glory in the privilege of 
being God's adopted children, are only too frequently 
guilty of sin. 

Transgression of God's law is sin. It may be in 
comparatively small matters, such as a trivial lie which 
hurts no one. Such offenses are named lesser or 
venial sins. The transgression may be in matters of 
consequence, such as ruining the neighbor's reputation. 
These offenses are grievous or mortal sins. 

Not only the wrongful deed is sinful, but knowingly 
and approvingly to picture to oneself in thought doing 
evil is displeasing to God. The desire or wish to do 
what is forbidden is a greater offense than merely en- 
joying it in thought; for the Savior declared: "But 



120 CHILDREN OF GOD 

I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman 
to lust after her, hath already committed adultery 
with her in his heart." Matth. V. 28. Of course, 
the sinful deed is a greater violation of God's law than 
the commission of it either in thought or desire. 

Knowingly and approvingly thus to think, desire or 
do what is mortally sinful, deprives the offender of the 
supernatural favors which had been imparted to him 
in his rehabilitation through sanctifying grace; but 
faith, hope, and former pardons are not included in 
such privation. Through grievous sin, the soul dies 
to grace. For this reason, such sins are commonly 
named mortal. Fortunately God's mercy is greater 
than human ingratitude! In His boundless forbear- 
ance He provided for offenders a plank in their ship- 
wreck. He not only is willing to pardon and take 
back to favor His wayward sons and daughters, but 
He also furnishes them with a tangible sacramental 
assurance of forgiveness and of restoration to the 
supernatural favors of sanctifying grace. This He 
does through the Church's ministrations in the Sacra- 
ment of Penance. 

During the evening of the day of His resurrection 
from the dead, the Blessed Jesus appeared to His 
Apostles. After He had assured them in the most lov- 
ing manner that it was really He and not a ghost, 
He said to them: "... Peace be to you. As the 
Father hath sent Me, I also send you. When He had 
said this, He breathed on them; and He said to them; 
Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall 



THE SACRAMENTS 121 

forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you 
shall retain, they are retained." John XX., 21-23. 

Catholics consider these words of the Savior ample 
warrant for their belief in the Sacrament of Penance, 
and for the use they make of it. Through the min- 
istry of duly authorized priests of the Church, God 
pardons repentant sinners and takes them back to 
favor, when they comply with the conditions for re- 
ceiving the Sacrament worthily. The reception of the 
Sacrament of Penance is ordinarily described as 
* Going to Confession." 

What is required of the returning prodigal is: to 
hate the evil of his ways and wish most sincerely that 
he had not sinned, because sin offends God; to have 
his mind honestly made up to do his best to avoid 
sin for the future, to tell his wrong-doings to the 
priest from whom he seeks absolution, and to accept 
the satisfaction imposed on him by the same priest. 
These acts of the returning sinner take the place of 
the matter in the sacramental symbol. The words 
spoken by the priest when he imparts pardon in God's 
name are the formulary : " I absolve thee from thy 
sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Ghost. Amen." — The special sacramental 
grace imparted is forgiveness of sin and strength 
against temptation and relapse. 

A merciful divine substitute for the actual recep- 
tion of the Sacraments of the Dead, is Perfect Con- 
trition, combined with the resolve to confess when 
able. Sorrow for* sin is of two kinds which are 



122 CHILDREN OF GOD 

named imperfect contrition or more properly attrition, 
and perfect contrition or simply contrition. The dif- 
ference between them is in the motive. Divine hope 
inspires attrition, whilst contrition is produced by 
divine charity. In the former, the sinner is sorry for 
his sins because they offend God Who is so good to 
him ; in the latter, the offender is sorry for his trans- 
gressions, because he has sinned against God Who is 
so infinitely good Himself and so deserving of all love. 
In a large way, the point of difference may be thus 
briefly expressed : attrition is sorrow for sin for one's 
own sake, whilst contrition is sorrow for sin for God's 
sake. 

Attrition and contrition may readily be combined; 
for Christian hope and charity so far from being an- 
tagonistic to and exclusive of one another are in per- 
fect accord, as has been explained. He who loves 
God for His own sake, cannot but hope in Him; and 
he who truly hopes in God is on the highway to love 
Him for His own sake. The manner of combining 
the two motives in one and the same act of sorrow, 
is shown in the formularies of repentance in common 
use among Catholics. The Catechism published by 
order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, 
combines the two after this wise : " O my God ! I am 
heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest 
all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and 
the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend 
Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all 
my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace 



THE SACRAMENTS 123 

to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my 
life." 

A very important practical point of difference be- 
tween attrition and contrition is that whilst the former 
does not actually reconcile the sinner with God, the 
latter does so reconcile him. To obtain God's pardon 
and friendship, they who are only attrite must actually 
receive a Sacrament of the Dead; but such an actual 
reception of the needed Sacrament is not necessary 
for those who are contrite, provided they have the 
implied purpose to receive such Sacrament. Hence, 
one who is truly contrite is cleansed at once from his 
sins prior to the ministrations of the Church, but he 
who is only attrite must have actual recourse to this 
ministry to be reconciled to his God. — Truly " the 
Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous 
in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all : and His tender 
mercies are over all His works." Ps. CXLIV. 8-9. 

Extreme Unction. St. Mark relates that the Apos- 
tles, when sent on a missionary tour, not only 
preached, but also anointed the sick with oil : " And 
going forth they preached that men should do 
penance : . . . and anointed with oil many that were 
sick, and healed them." Mark VI. 12-13. St. James 
instructing the faithful what to do for the spiritual 
welfare of the sick, wrote : " Is any man sick among 
you? Let him bring in the priests of the Church, and 
let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the 
name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save 
the sick man: and the Lord shall raise him up: and 



124 CHILDREN OF GOD 

if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him." 
Jas. V. 14-15. 

The Catholic Church continues what was thus 
enjoined, when the Sacrament of Extreme Unction is 
administered to those of her members who are sick 
unto death. It is not done for children who have not 
attained to the age of reason; neither are they 
anointed, whose ailment is not unto death. 

Anointing with oil consecrated by the Bishop and 
the accompanying words spoken by the ministering 
priest, are the sacramental sign. Only priests are the 
ministrants. The special graces conferred are : remis- 
sion of sin; restoration to health, if it be for the 
spiritual good of the patient, or aids to die a saintly 
death. 

Ordinarily the eyes, ears, nostrils, lips, hands, and 
feet, are anointed in the form of a small cross, the 
priest saying whilst doing so : " Through this holy 
unction and His tender mercy, may the Lord pardon 
thee whatever thou hast sinned by the sense of sight; 
— of hearing; — of smell; — of taste and speech; — by 
touch; — by thy going and coming. 

Holy Orders. In organized society not every 
member is an officer. In some recognized way, citi- 
zens must receive the power and authority therefor. 
It is no less so in the Church of God; for she is a 
most thoroughly organized society. Her organism is 
from God. Hence, are there offices in the Church 
which only they can fill whom God has empowered 
to do so. These offices are those of the priesthood. 



THE SACRAMENTS 125 

The Sacrament of Holy Orders is the method 
established by Christ for admitting male members of 
the Church to the priesthood and of imparting to 
them the spiritual powers necessary for discharging 
the duties of the different priestly offices in the 
Church. 

There are four degrees of officers whose office is 
by divine institution and ordinance. They are the 
offices of Deacon, Priest, Bishop, and Pope. Other 
officers, such as Reader, Acolyte, Subdeacon, Arch- 
bishop, Cardinal, etc., were introduced by the Church 
herself for the more orderly carrying on of divine 
service and for the better management of the many 
works for the benefit of mankind in which she is 
engaged. 

The sacramental sign is made up of the imposing 
of hands with the handing over of the instruments of 
the respective office, both actions being accompanied 
by words spoken by the Bishop who alone is the min- 
ister of this Sacrament. These words are not the 
same for each office. 

The special sacramental graces imparted are: the 
spiritual power to offer the Sacrifice of the Mass; the 
spiritual power to reconcile sinners with God through 
the ministry of the Sacrament of Penance and to ad- 
minister other Sacraments ; — commission to preach the 
Gospel; — qualification to take part in the government 
of the Church according to the measure of the office 
received; — and the gratuitously God-given claim for 
special assistance from on high to discharge properly 



126 CHILDREN OF GOD 

the duties of the priesthood and to live worthily the 
priestly life. 

The Lord Jesus instituted this Sacrament when He 
enjoined on His Apostles and their successors in the 
priestly office to do what He had done at the Last 
Supper, which was to offer His body and blood under 
the appearances of bread and wine; and when during 
the evening of the first Resurrection-Day, He made 
them and their successors God's deputy judges to re- 
lease from sin the truly repentant or to retain sin unto 
offenders who are not repentant. The Apostles so 
understood it; for they conferred the Sacrament of 
Holy Orders. Acts, VI. 1-6, XIII. 1-3. What was 
thus done in Apostolic times, the Church always held 
to be necessary. 

In a large sense, all Christians are priests for offer- 
ing to God the sacrifice of the godly life in Christ 
Jesus; but this is not the sacramental priesthood of the 
Church. 

Matrimony. Marriage is a state of life instituted 
by God Himself; therefore it is subject to His 
ordinances which no human authority may set aside. 
There came to Jesus, " Pharisees tempting Him, and 
saying: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife 
for every cause ? Who answering said to them : Have 
ye not read that He Who made man from the begin- 
ning, made them male and female? And He said: 
For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, 
and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be 
in one flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but 



THE SACRAMENTS 127 

one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, 
let no man put asunder." Matth. XIX. 3-6. 

The Catholic Church has always taught that mar- 
riage validly contracted between persons who have 
attained to the supernatural dignity of adopted chil- 
dren of God through Baptism is a Sacrament. It was 
a sacred institution from the beginning; but Christ 
Jesus added to it the sacramental element. That this 
is so, is apparent from the way the Apostle of the 
Gentiles wrote about marriage, showing that from 
Christ and in the Church it received a something 
which it did not have before and which it has not 
got now among those who do not belong to Christ 
through Baptism: "Let women be subject to their 
husbands, as to the Lord : because the husband is the 
head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the Church. 
He is the Savior of His body. Therefore as the 
Church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be sub- 
ject to their husbands in all things. Husbands love 
your wives as Christ also loved the Church and deliv- 
ered Himself up for it: that He might sanctify it, 
cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life: 
that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, 
not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but 
that it should be holy and without blemish. So also 
ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. 
He that loveth his wife, loveth himself. For no man 
ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cher- 
isheth it, as also Christ doth the Church: because we 
are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His 



128 CHILDREN OF GOD 

bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father 
and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall 
be two in one flesh. This is a great sacrament; but I 
speak in Christ and in the Church/' Eph. V. 22-32. 

Marriage is a contract between one man and one 
woman faithfully to be to one another respectively 
husband and wife until death do them part, for the 
purpose of begetting and educating offspring, and for 
the purpose of securing the mutual social and spiritual 
aids to be obtained from conjugal home-companion- 
ship. 

Children are the chief purpose of marriage. The 
Catholic Church recognizes only one mode for legiti- 
mately regulating the number of offspring. It is the 
honestly chaste life, the couple honorably living to- 
gether as brother and sister for periods of time as they 
may determine by mutual consent. To be faultless 
the motive for this arrangement should be virtuous; 
for when the Lord blessed the married state he said : 

r 

" Increase and multiply, and fill the earth. . . * " 
Other methods of regulation are both very sinful and 
degrade marriage to a condition of disgraceful lust. 
How can they who thus offend, hand on to their chil- 
dren, should they have any, aught but a vitiated sexual 
heredity ? 

The sacramental sign of the Sacrament of Matri- 
mony is the marriage contract actually entered into by 
the couple. The contracting parties are the min- 
istrants of the sacrament. The priest blesses the 
union and is the chief official witness thereof for the 



THE SACRAMENTS 129 

Church. The special graces conferred are assurances 
of supernatural aids for the proper fulfillment of the 
duties of Christian parenthood, for fostering between 
husband and wife chaste conjugal love and mutual 
fidelity, and for easier sexual self-control. 

Having been elevated to the dignity of a Sacrament 
by the Savior, the Church is the divinely appointed 
custodian of the marriage of adopted children of God, 
having authority to determine under what conditions 
it may be contracted both lawfully and validly. — Leg- 
islation relative to the civic effects of marriage be- 
longs to the State. 

Character. The Sacraments of Baptism, Confirma- 
tion, and Holy Orders, can be validly received only 
once by each individual, because in addition to sancti- 
fying grace which they impart, they also impress what 
Catholics name Character. The Catechism of the 
Council of Trent reads thus: "When the Apostle 
says : ' Now He that confirmeth us with you in Christ, 
and hath anointed us, is God: Who also hath sealed 
us, and given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts/ 
he clearly designates by the word * sealed/ this sacra- 
mental Character, the property of which is to impress 
a seal and mark on the soul. This Character is, as 
it were, a distinctive and indelible impression stamped 
on the soul. . . ." 

Sacramental Character is a spiritual enabling quali- 
fication whereby the recipient is empowered to receive 
or do something sacred as a member of God's family 
of adopted children, which is the Church; conse- 



130 CHILDREN OF GOD 

quently, it afso distinguishes him from those who have 
not been thus sacramentally qualified. The same 
Catechism of the Council of Trent writes: "This 
Character has a twofold effect, it qualifies us to re- 
ceive and perform something sacred, and distinguishes 
us one from another. In the Character impressed by- 
Baptism, both effects are exemplified; by it we are 
qualified to receive the other Sacraments; and the 
Christian is distinguished from those who profess not 
the name of Jesus. The same illustration is afforded 
by the Characters impressed by Confirmation and 
Holy Orders: by the former we are armed and ar- 
rayed as soldiers of Christ, publicly to profess and 
defend His name, to fight against our domestic enemy, 
and against the spiritual powers of wickedness in high 
places, and are also distinguished from those who, be- 
ing newly baptized, are, as it were, new-born infants : 
the latter combines the power of consecrating and 
administering the Sacraments, and also distinguishes 
those who are invested with this power, from the rest 
of the faithful. The rule of the Catholic Church is, 
therefore, inviolably to be observed: it teaches that 
these three sacraments impress a Character and are 
never to be reiterated." This Character is not lost by 
the commission of sin, not even of grievous sin; for 
it is an empowering qualification which does not nec- 
essarily sanctify. 

Sacraments of the Dead. Baptism and Penance 
or Confession are for the imparting of the spiritual 
life of grace to those who are without it, either be- 



THE SACRAMENTS 131 

cause of original sin or because of personal sin com- 
mitted after Baptism. Baptism gives this life to those 
who never had it; and Penance to those who lost it 
through the personal commission of grievous sin after 
having been baptized. Hence, the name; for these 
Sacraments are for the spiritually dead that they may 
obtain supernatural spiritual life. 

Sacraments of the Living. The other five Sacra- 
ments presuppose the recipient in possession of such 
spiritual life. They intensify the life which the re- 
cipient obtained either through Baptism or Penance. 
Hence, also their name. They are for those who are 
already alive unto God. 

Disposition. Whilst Catholics firmly believe that 
the Sacraments do not derive their effectiveness from 
the devotional dispostions of either recipient or min- 
istrant, but directly from God Who uses them as in- 
struments of His mercy, they also hold that the per- 
sonal sinfulness of the recipient can impede the bene- 
ficial work of the Sacraments in the soul. To receive 
the Sacraments in a grievously sinful manner, im- 
pedes the beneficial work entirely and renders the re- 
cipient guilty of a mortal sin of sacrilege. Lesser sin 
and the lack of spiritual energy do not impede the 
substantial effectiveness of the Sacraments, but only 
the extent and intensity of the effect produced. 
Hence, those who receive the Sacraments with better 
subjective dispositions, are benefited more thereby 
than they would be, if they were less well disposed or 
prepared. More briefly, the less obstruction the Sacra- 



132 CHILDREN OF GOD 

ments meet in the recipient, the more they will benefit 
him. As an illustration, take fire. It will burn dry 
wood more readily than moist wood. If the wood is 
too wet, it will not burn at all until sufficiently dried 
out But the being dry does not impart to fire the 
power of combustion, neither does being wet deprive 
fire of this power; but these conditions either place 
or remove obstacles to the action of combustion which 
is the natural effectiveness of fire. It is so with the 
recipient's disposition in regard to the action of the 
Sacraments. In a general way, personal sinfulness is 
an obstacle to the action of the Sacraments; repent- 
ance and the love of God are favorable dispositions. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH 

Such important functions in the rehabilitation of 
mankind having been assigned to the Church, it is to 
be expected that God has made it possible for men 
of good will to find her. She must bear traits by 
which she can be known with certainty by those who 
wish to know her. What is more, it is in harmony 
with God's merciful providence, that these traits 
should be of such a nature that they can be discov- 
ered with comparative ease even by the unscholarly. 
These traits or characteristics are called NOTES or 
MARKS of the Church. They are four and are men- 
tioned in the Nicene Creed : UNITY, SANCTITY, 
APOSTOLICITY, AND CATHOLICITY. 

Unity. By unity is meant sameness or identity for 
all times and the world over, in all things for which 
the Church claims divine origin. Hence, the same 
faith and moral standards, the same Sacraments, the 
same essential government, the same conditions of 
membership, today and for all future times as in the 
days of the Apostles. No additions to revealed doc- 
trines or precepts; but only development, meaning 
thereby a more thorough explanation and understand- 
ing of what was revealed prior to the death of the 

133 



134 CHILDREN OP GOD 

last surviving Apostle. The same sacramental sys- 
tem; not more Sacraments in one age than another, 
for one nation than for others. The government for 
the entire Church wherever found, consisting of the 
invisible headship of Christ, and the visible headship 
of the Pope for the entire Church, and Bishops for 
limited territories having Priests and Deacons under 
them. 

Wherefore, one divinely established Church, not 
many churches; one faith, not many discordant 
creeds; one definite divinely instituted sacramental 
system, not several; one form of divinely organized 
government, and not conflicting forms of it; one re- 
vealed standard of morality, not different standards 
for different people and different times; one divinely 
appointed mode of worship centering about the 
Eucharist, not discordant forms of worship. 

The Lord Jesus emphatically affirmed unity to be 
a characteristic of His Church : " And other sheep 
I have, that are not of this fold; them also I must 
bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall 
be one fold and one shepherd." John X. 16. In His 
prayer for His followers at the Last Supper, He 
pleaded with His Father: "Holy Father, keep them 
in Thy name whom Thou hast given Me; that they 
may be one, as we also are one. . . . And not for 
them only do I pray, but for them also who through 
their word shall believe in Me; that they all may be 
one, as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee; that they 
also may be one in us; that the world may believe that 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH 135 

Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou hast 
given to Me, I have given to them; that they may be 
one, as We also are one : I in them, and Thou in Me ; 
that they may be made perfect in one : and the world 
may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved 
them, as Thou hast loved Me." John XVII. n, 
20-23. The Apostle of the Gentiles wrote to the 
Ephesians: "I, therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, be- 
seech that you walk worthy of the vocation in which 
you are called, with all humility and mildness, with 
patience, supporting one another in charity. Careful, 
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 
One body and one Spirit : as you are called in one hope 
of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. 
One God and Father of all, Who is above all, and 
through all, and in us all. But to every one of us is 
given grace, according to the measure of the giving 
of Christ" IV. 1-7. 

Sanctity. The meaning of sanctity or holiness is 
freedom from moral blemish and the possession of 
the spiritual perfection which one's calling demands. 
As applied to the Church, it means : — that her founder 
is holy; — that she as a divinely instituted system or 
organism is holy; — that her ministrations are holy; — 
that her teaching is holy; — that her regulation of con- 
duct aims at goading her members to live holily by 
avoiding what is sinful and striving for what is unto 
God ; — that she never sanctions what is unholy ; — that 
she is always intent on imparting to mankind the fruits 
of Christ's redemption; — that her constant striving is 



136 CHILDREN OF GOD 

to induce all men, and her members particularly, to so 
conduct themselves that they may be found worthy to 
enter into life everlasting; — that she never tires of 
holding up as an ideal for the imitation of all, the 
human life of Christ Jesus, the Son of God Incarnate 
Who was crucified; — that very many of her members 
are truly holy, even though not a few of them fall 
short of the supernatural standards of living which 
she inculcates in season and out of season. 

That the Church must be holy in this sense is evi- 
dent; for Christ is her founder and He promised to 
be with her to the end of time in such a way that 
the gates of hell, the symbol of evil, shall not prevail 
against her. Hence, St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians : 
" Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the 
Church, and delivered Himself up for it: that He 
might sanctify it, cleansing it by a laver of water 
in the word of life : that He might present it to Him- 
self a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or 
any such thing; but that it should be holy, and with- 
out blemish." V., 25-27. 

Catholicity. Christ died for the redemption of all 
men; therefore the Church established by Him and 
through whose ministry the fruits of His atone- 
ment are destined to be imparted to mankind unto 
the end of time, cannot be merely a local or 
national church; but she must be universal, interna- 
tional, Catholic. Gradually she must reach out to all 
countries and peoples, offering them the opportunities 
for conversion to the faith of Christ. It is for this 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH 137 

reason the Lord Jesus gave her the commission : " Go 
ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to 
every creature. He that believeth and is baptized, 
shall be saved : but he that believeth not shall be con- 
demned." Mark XVI. 15-16. Hence, even in the 
days of the Apostles, St. Paul was able to write: 
" Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the 
word of Christ. But I say: Have they not heard? 
Yes, verily, their sound hath gone forth into all the 
earth, and their words unto the ends of the whole 
world." Rom. X. 17-18. And to the Colossians he 
wrote : " For the hope that is laid up for you in 
heaven, which you have heard in the word of truth 
of the gospel, which is come unto you, as also it is in 
the whole world, and bringeth forth fruit and 
groweth, even as it doth in you, since the day you 
heard and knew the grace of God in truth/' I. 5-6. 

Apostolicity. The Church established by Christ 
must be able to trace the beginning of all within her, 
for which supernatural origin is claimed, back to Him 
through the ministry of the Apostles; for to these 
chosen men did He commit the carrying into effect 
what He had planned and ordained in regard to His 
Church. During the years of His public ministry, He 
trained them for the work of the actual establishment 
of the Church throughout the world after His death. 
He taught them : the doctrines of the Christian faith 
and the precepts of Christian morality and spiritual per- 
fection; — the sacramental ministry by means of which 
the fruits of His redemption were to be imparted to 



138 CHILDREN OF GOD 

men individually unto the end of time; — the worship 
which should center about the Eucharist; — the consti- 
tution of the Church as an international or catholic 
religious body and the essential organization of her 
government; — the privileges and conditions of mem- 
bership. In a word, He conducted what may be 
described as a theological seminary for the training 
of the Apostles in all that was necessary for them to 
carry out His plans in regard to the Church. 

Hence, only that Church which can trace back to 
the Apostles her history, can be the true and 
only Church of Jesus Christ. Churches which cannot 
so trace their history, are man-made churches; there- 
fore, they are not the Church through whose preach- 
ing, ministration, worship, and government, the fruits 
of Christ's rehabilitation can come to men; for they 
are not " built on the foundation of the Apostles and 
Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner 
stone; in Whom all the building, being framed to- 
gether, groweth up into an holy temple in the Lord. 
In Whom you also are built together into an habita- 
tion of God in the Spirit." Eph. II. 20-22. 

The True Church. The only Church in which are 
found these four characteristics of Unity, Sanctity, 
Catholicity, and Apostolicity, is the Catholic Church. 
Therefore whoever would attain unto the rehabilita- 
tion secured for man by Christ Jesus must accept her 
teaching, ministration, communion, and government, 
when the same have sufficiently been made known 
to him. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH 139 

Other Churches. There are many other churches 
which claim for themselves the ministration of salva- 
tion and identification with the Church established by 
Christ Jesus; but they cannot make good their claim, 
because they lack the above four characteristics of the 
true Church. There is no unity among them; for they 
are many, teaching conflicting doctrines. — They have 
not the sanctity which is derived from Christ as 
founder; for they were established by men who did 
not and could not adduce evidences of an apostolic 
commission given to them. — They are not catholic; for 
tliey avow themselves to be either congregational, 
local, or national, and they disown a center of Church 
government and of authoritative teaching for the 
whole world. — They certainly are not apostolic in 
their origin, as may easily be seen from the table 
given on page 141. Only chief non-Catholic modern 
churches are mentioned. It would be an enormous 
task to enumerate their many subdivisions. The data 
are taken from the Encyclopedia Britannica. In every 
case the earliest given date is here set down, volume 
and page being assigned. 

None of these churches had an earlier beginning 
than the XVI. century. When they came into exist- 
ence the Catholic Church had been in existence 
close unto fifteen hundred years. She traces her his- 
tory in unbroken succession back to the days of the 
Apostles. She is the only Church able to show con- 
clusively that Christ Jesus is her Founder. The date 
of her establishment is a.d. 33. 



140 CHILDREN OF GOD 

These four distinctive marks of the true Church 
are reinforced by another mentioned by the Lord 
Jesus Himself. It is persecution, — not persecuting, 
but being persecuted: " And whosoever shall not re- 
ceive you, nor hear your words: going forth out of 
that house or city shake off the dust from your feet. 
Amen I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the 
land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment 
than for that city. Behold I send you as sheep in 
the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as ser- 
pents and simple as doves. But beware of men. For 
they will deliver you up in councils, and they will 
scourge you in their synagogues. And you shall be 
brought before governors, and before kings for My 
sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles : but 
when they shall deliver you up, take no thought how 
or what to speak: for it shall be given you in that 
Hour what to speak. For it is not you that speak, 
but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you. 
The brother also shall deliver up the brother to death, 
and the father the son, and the children shall rise up 
against their parents, and shall put them to death. 
And you shall be hated by all men for My name's 
sake : but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall 
be saved. And when they shall persecute you in this 
city, flee into another. Amen I say to you, you shall 
not finish all the cities of Israel, till the Son of man 
come. The disciple is not above the master, nor the 
servant above his lord. If they have called the good 
man of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH 141 









23 



cq 



>> 



10 

w > X f 






s 












$ 



-a a rt 

PLj 3 

3 ^ ,G* 

N £ 

a> o 
fa - o 

^ 12 IC 



•d 

g 

c ^ 

G5 bC 

o g 



•a 



^ x «« 

2 ° Si 

•° J= ~ 
V ±1 <U 

IF 




be G 
g ^ 



VO m 



* 



t^ 00 Tf 
in m ts. to 



c 






T3 T3 



W O W fe co 



1) 
G 

o 

u 
PQ 



1 c 
X o 



G 

l-i «— i_ C 



U 






G 



c > U 









S5 



C/3 

H 

PL, 

pq 



H 
m 

H 

P-. 
< 
PQ 



H 

1— ! 

o 

H 

< 



H 

CO 

Ou 
H O 






CO 

W 

I — I 

u 

CO 



O < , 
UUP 



< 
< 

PL, 

c 



< 

co C 



PL, 

w 



P^l S5 

..o< 

52 Sw 
o 6 >< 



142 CHILDREN OF GOD 

his household? Therefore fear them not. For noth- 
ing is covered that shall not be revealed : nor hid, that 
shall not be known. That which I tell you in the 
dark, speak ye in the light: and that which you hear 
in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops. And fear 
ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to 
kill the soul: but rather fear Him that can destroy 
both body and soul in hell." Matth. X. 14-28. In 
His last discourse before His death, Jesus said to His 
disciples : " These things I command you, that you 
love one another. If the world hate you, know ye, 
that it hath hated Me before you. If you had been 
of the world, the world would love its own: but be- 
cause you are not of the world, but I have chosen 
you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 
Remember My word that I said to you: The servant 
is not greater than his master. If they have perse- 
cuted Me, they will also persecute you: if they have 
kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all 
these things they will do to you for My name's sake : 
because they have not known Him Who sent Me. If 
I had not come, and spoken to them, they would not 
have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 
He that hateth Me, hateth My Father also.'' John 
XV. 17-23. 

The history of Catholicism is one of being perse- 
cuted. From the beginning until now, the Catholic 
Church has been assaulted by every unfair method of 
attack. She has been the victim of every form of 
persecution from that of the savagery of the heathen 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH 143 

Roman emperors to the refined trickery of diplomacy. 
Many of her unruly powerful members made her path 
a most difficult one. Her open enemies resorted to 
every available method to destroy her. But today the 
Catholic Church is more flourishing and mightier than 
ever, and her enemies cannot but recognize it. 

It is only human that her faithful members should 
smart under the pain of being thus everlastingly per- 
secuted; but it is Catholic to rejoice in being able to 
point to this ever-present foretold sign by which to 
know the true Church of Jesus Christ: "Blessed are 
ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and 
speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My sake : 
be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in 
heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that 
were before you." Matth. V. 11-12. Which other 
church can lay claim to this divinely distinctive mark 
of being truly Christ's Church? 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE CHURCH 

The Church founded by Jesus Christ, to be of any 
permanent benefit to mankind, must have the attri- 
butes of indefectibiltiy, infallibility, and supremacy or 
recognized headship; for, without these, she could not 
continue one, holy, apostolic, and catholic. 

The history of Protestantism is tangible evidence of 
the truth of this statement. The so-called Reforma- 
tion of the sixteenth century is founded on the theory 
that the Church went wrong, that she made and makes 
mistakes in her teaching of God's revelation, that there 
is no central government for the whole Church. As 
a result of this Protestantism is the opposite of unity, 
apostolicity, and catholicity. It is divided and sub- 
divided into so many opposing sects, that as a system 
of religion it is utterly bewildering. It is certainly not 
apostolic; for neither the trunk of it nor any one of its 
branches, comes any nearer to the days of the death 
of the last of the Apostles than fourteen hundred and 
nineteen years, as can be seen from the diagram given 
on a preceding page. It is not catholic or interna- 
tional ; for it is everlastingly taunting Roman Catholics 
with disloyalty to national governments, because they 
acknowledge a central government for the whole 

144 



ATTRIBUTES OF THE CHURCH 145 

Church. As a system Protestantism is not holy, what- 
ever its individual members may be; for it proclaims 
justification by faith alone, the imputation of the 
merits of Christ, and vicarious atonement, in a 
manner which does away with the necessity of 
personal good works for adults, as a condition of sal- 
vation. 

To Catholics the Protestant system is unintelligible 
and at the same time intellectually repellent. The 
civic organization of the United States is claimed to 
be the most free and democratic known to history. 
Americans sacrificed everything to make the world 
safe for their brand of democracy. Yet the American 
system postulates a most effective central government 
and a supreme court whose decisions are rated prac- 
tically as infallible; for both the action of the execu- 
tive and of the supreme court is final in each one's 
respective sphere. The federal constitution is the 
creed of Americanism. It is a collection of American 
dogmata which are authoritatively interpretated by 
the supreme court and effectively enforced by the 
mighty arm of a strong supreme executive. Ameri- 
cans do not claim indefectibility for their system of 
government; first, because it is man-made; and, sec- 
ond, because amendment after amendment is being 
enacted. 

Indefectibility. By indefectibility, Catholics under- 
stand that the Church, as the divinely constituted sys- 
tem of revealed religion, shall last to the end of time, 
and that the system itself shall neither break down 



146 CHILDREN OF GOD 

nor go wrong nor be changed in anything for which 
divine origin is claimed. Members, even in large 
numbers, may go wrong. Entire nations have fallen 
away from the unity of the fold. The same misfor- 
tune for mankind may happen again; but the Church 
will last unto the end of time. 

The doctrine of indefectibility does not mean that 
everything in the Church must necessarily be of 
divine institution; for according to Catholic belief 
divine revelation and institution is not opposed to the 
use of human methods which do not conflict with what 
God has made known and ordained. Hence, though 
divinely appointed conditions of membership always 
remain the same, for safeguarding these better, the 
Church may add also others in harmony with them : — 
though her divinely established form of government 
undergoes no change, she is at liberty to work out the 
detail of government in such wise as to attain the 
best results: — though her sacramental system will be 
the same for all ages as it was in the days of the 
Apostles; for the more reverent ministration and re- 
ception of these same sacraments the Church adds 
ceremonial: — though the doctrines of Christ as 
preached by the Apostles remain intact, without addi- 
tions or subtractions, she constantly more fully ex- 
plains these doctrines according to the varying and 
progressive needs of the human mind; but it is always 
the same old doctrine which is explained, the same 
old meaning being ever retained: — her divinely or- 
dained worship remains always what it was in the 



ATTRIBUTES OF THE CHURCH 147 

beginning, however much she may judge it opportune 
to vary the ceremonial to add greater splendor, maj- 
esty, and devotional inspiration to the performance of 
the divinely instituted worship. 

Wherefore, according to the Catholic understanding 
of the religion of Jesus Christ, there is ample room 
for the development which is scarcely separable from 
human effort, and underlying this development the 
entire unchangeableness of everything which is of 
divine origin. As time goes on, the Church without 
changing, failing, breaking down, or going wrong, 
helps her members to understand better " the de- 
positum fidei " (which is the whole collection of 
God's revelation), and aids them to fit themselves bet- 
ter into the requirements of this same revelation, using 
for this purpose everything, even the purely human, 
which can be made to harmonize with such revelation. 
Thus the indefectibility of the Church, combined 
with her assimilative vitality, is a sublime concrete 
verification of the following beautiful words of the 
Savior: "... Therefore every scribe instructed in 
the kingdom of heaven, is like to a man that is a 
householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure 
new things and old." Matth. XIII. 52. The Church 
is the divinely instructed scribe and householder; the 
treasure is the deposit of faith committed to the 
Apostles by the Savior; the bringing forth out of the 
treasure new things and old is the guidance of the 
Church helping her members to know better and more 
fully what the treasury contains and to use the con- 



148 CHILDREN OF GOD 

tents more thoroughly to their greater spiritual 
advantage. 

That the Church of Christ must have this kind of 
indefectibility is most forcibly proclaimed by the 
Apostle of the Gentiles : " I wonder that you are so 
soon removed from him that called you into the grace 
of Christ, unto another gospel. Which is not another, 
only there are some that trouble you, and would per- 
vert the Gospel of Christ. But though we, or an 
angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides 
that which we have preached to you, let him be 
anathema. As we said before, so now I say again: 
if any one preach to you a gospel, besides that which 
you have received, let him be anathema. For do I 
now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please 
men? If I yet pleased men, I should not be the 
servant of Christ. For I give you to understand, 
brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me 
is not according to man. For neither did I receive 
it of man, nor did I learn it; but by the revelation 
of Jesus Christ." Gal. 6-12. 

Neither indefectibility nor infallibility should be 
taken to mean inability to sin. From the least to the 
Pope, Catholics are lowly enough to realize that they 
may lapse into sin, even great sin, if they provoke 
God to withhold the timely assistance of His grace. — 
A joy to the Catholic heart is the belief in the entire 
sinlessness of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Of course, 
Jesus could not sin, because He was and is both God 
and man. 



ATTRIBUTES OF THE CHURCH 149 

Infallibility. To Catholic mentality, a divinely in- 
stituted international Church, which can blunder in her 
official teaching, would be to mankind more of a mis- 
fortune than a blessing. The record which Protes- 
tantism has made for itself confirms Catholics in this 
belief; for one of the chief contentions of Protestant- 
ism is, not only that the Church established by Christ 
can err, but also that she did err: wherefore the neces- 
sity for the Reformation. Seeing what harm has come 
from this tenet, Catholics cling tenaciously to the doc- 
trine of the Church's infallibility. 

By infallibility is understood the divine safeguard 
which secures the Church against error in her defini- 
tive official statements and explanations of doctrines 
pertinent to faith and morality. 

The teaching infallibility of the Church is vested in 
two subjects; one is the Pope, General Councils are 
the other. A General Council is a congress of the 
Catholic Bishops of the world, under the presidency 
of the Pope, presiding either in person or through a 
representative appointed by him. The Pope without 
the Council is infallible; but Councils without the 
Pope are not infallible : wherefore the action of Coun- 
cils must receive the approval of the Pope; but the 
acts of the Pope do not need the approval of Coun- 
cils. The Decisions of the Pope and of the General 
Councils are effective prior to and independently of 
the acceptance and approval of the members of the 
Church. 

The decree of the Vatican Council which defines 



150 CHILDREN OF GOD 

the official teaching of the Church in regard to the 
Pope's infallibility, is also a declaration of what the 
infallibility of General Councils is : " The Roman 
Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra — that is, when 
in the exercise of his office as pastor and teacher of 
all Christians he defines, by virtue of his supreme 
Apostolic authority, a doctrine of faith or morals to 
be held by the whole Church — is, by reason of the 
divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, 
possessed of that infallibility with which the Divine 
Redeemer wished His Church to be endowed in defin- 
ing doctrines of faith and morals; and consequently 
that such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are irre- 
formable of their own nature (ex sese) and not by 
reason of the Church's consent." Ap. Catholic En- 
cyclopedia, Vol. VII. , page 796. 

Hence, infallibility is claimed, not for all papal and 
councilar acts, but only for definitive official state- 
ments and explanations of doctrines pertinent to faith 
and morals, which are promulgated under the con- 
ditions set forth in the above decree of the Vatican 
Council. 

Furthermore : " It should be observed in conclusion 
that papal infallibility is a personal and incommuni- 
cable charisma, which is not shared by any pontifical 
tribunal. It was promised directly to Peter, and to 
each of Peter's successors in the primacy, but not as 
a prerogative the exercise of which could be delegated 
to others. Hence doctrinal decisions or instructions 
issued by the Roman Congregations, even when ap- 



ATTRIBUTES OF THE CHURCH 151 

proved by the Pope in the ordinary way, have no claim 
to be considered infallible. To be infallible they must 
be issued by the Pope himself in his own name accord- 
ing to the conditions already mentioned as requisite 
for ex cathedra teaching." Catholic Encyclopedia, 
Vol. VII., page 796. What these conditions are, is 
sufficiently stated in the above decree. — [" Ex cathedra 
teaching " is definitive official statement or explana- 
tion of doctrine.] 

Supremacy. The Church, God's family of adopted 
children on earth, is a social religious organism of 
men in the flesh, and not an assembly of spirits; there- 
fore, like all organizations made up of human beings, 
she must have a center of authority which can be 
approached bodily. Moreover, the Church of Jesus 
Christ being one for all the nations of the world, can 
have only one such center of government, not many 
independent of one another. More briefly, the visible 
Church of God must have a visible head or a chief 
executive. 

Catholics hold that this divinely established center 
of authority is the Roman Pontiff, the Pope, in whom 
is vested all the authority to teach and to govern 
wherewith Christ endowed His Church. He has been 
constituted the supreme authority to legislate for the 
entire Church, to govern Bishops no less than the 
faithful, to watch over all the ministrations of the 
Church and to direct them. The headship of the 
Roman Pontiff is called the Primacy or Supremacy of 
the Pope. 



152 CHILDREN OF GOD 

The authority of the Pope in the Church is not 
absolute, but constitutional. He is not an autocrat, 
to do as he pleases ; but he must keep within the limits 
of the authority conferred on him by the constitution. 
The constitution of the Church is God's revelation, 
both as set down in the Bible and made known by 
Tradition. — [The Bible is a written record of God's 
revelation. Tradition is the handing down by word 
of mouth revelations which are not recorded in the 
Bible.] 

The Pope's supremacy is limited to the kingdom or 
family of God's adopted children on earth. It does 
not encroach on the legitimate domain of civil govern- 
ments. The Savior declared to Pilate: "... My 
kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were 
of this world, My servants would certainly strive that 
I should not be delivered to the Jews : but now My 
kingdom is not from hence." John XVIII. 36. In 
His answer to the spies sent by the Pharisees to trap 
Him in His speech, He said : " Render therefore to 
Caesar the things that are Caesar's: and to God the 
things that are God's." Luke XX. 25. Hence, belief 
in the Pope's supremacy does not in any way inter- 
fere with the allegiance and loyalty of Catholics to 
their country and government, as was so clearly 
proven by their behavior during the terrible world- 
war. The State is supreme in its sphere of ruling the 
commonwealth, and the Pope is supreme in the sphere 
of the kingdom of Christ, which is in the world, but 
not of the world; but the supremacy of both is Km- 



ATTRIBUTES OF THE CHURCH 153 

ited by God's law and revelation : as the Pope may not 
do as he pleases, so neither are governments at liberty 
to do as they please. Both are accountable to God. 

The doctrine of the headship of the Pope, as Cath- 
olics understand it, does not conflict with the headship 
of Christ Jesus over the Church. One of the joys of 
the Catholic faith is belief in the sublimely beautiful 
words of the Apostle of the Gentiles: " Giving thanks 
to the Father, Who hath made us worthy to be par- 
takers of the lot of the saints in light : Who hath de- 
livered us from the power of darkness, and hath trans- 
lated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in 
Whom we have redemption through His blood, the 
remission of sins; Who is the image of the invisible 
God, the firstborn of every creature : for in Him were 
all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and 
invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or prin- 
cipalities, or powers : all things were created by Him 
and in Him. And He is before all, and by Him all 
things consist. And He is the head of the body, the 
Church, Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the 
dead; that in all things He may hold the primacy; be- 
cause in Him it hath well pleased the Father that all 
fullness should dwell; and through Him to reconcile 
all things unto Himself, making peace through the 
blood of the cross, both to the things that are on 
earth, and the things that are in heaven." Colos. I., 
12-20. The headship of Christ Jesus is that of revela- 
tion, organization, redemption, and sanctification. The 
headship of the Pope is the exercise of the teaching 



154 CHILDREN OF GOD 

and governing authority committed by the Lord to His 
Church. Jesus is head of the Church in His own right 
and name; the Pope is Christ's Vicar or supreme rep- 
resentative on earth. 

Catholics have the best reasons for believing in inde- 
fectibility, infallibility, and supremacy, as they under- 
stand them; for without these attributes, the Church 
could not be what God planned her to be. Were she 
without them, her lot in a short time would be that 
of the Protestant churches: she would inevitably be 
divided and subdivided into many sects, carried away 
by every wind of new doctrine, confined within narrow 
territorial limits, and the plaything of every reformer 
who might chance to think that he can improve on the 
work of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by the Apostles. 

In addition to these reasons and others which might 
be assigned, Catholics have the word of Jesus Christ 
for their belief in these attributes of the Church. One 
day Jesus asked His disciples : " . . . But whom do 
you say that I am ? Simon Peter answered and said : 
Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And 
Jesus answering, said to him : Blessed art thou, Simon 
Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed 
this to thee, but My Father Who is in heaven. And I 
say to thee: That thou art Peter " (the rock) ; " And 
upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates 
of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give 
to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And 
whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, shall be bound 
also in heaven." Matth. XVI. 15-19. The night before 



ATTRIBUTES OF THE CHURCH 155 

His death, the Lord said to the same Apostle : "... 
Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have 
thee, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed 
for thee, that thy faith fail not : and thou being once 
converted, confirm thy brethren. ,, What the conver- 
sion was to which the Savior referred is made plain 
by the words which follow: "Who said to Him: 
' Lord, I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison, 
and to death.' And He said : ' I say to thee, Peter, 
the cock shall not crow this day, till thou thrice deniest 
that thou knowest Me/ . . . Luke XXII. 31-34. 
Peter sinned most shamefully; but he also repented 
most thoroughly. — In the last chapter of the Gospel 
of St. John is recorded the touching conversation be- 
tween the risen Christ and the Apostle who had thrice 
denied his Master : " When therefore they had dined, 
Jesus saith to Simon Peter: Simon, son of John, 
lovest thou Me more than these? He saith to Him: 
Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee. He saith 
to him : Feed My lambs. He saith to him again : 
Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me? He saith to 
Him : Yes, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee. He 
saith to Him : Feed My Lambs. He said to him the 
third time: Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me? 
Peter was grieved, because He had said to him the 
third time: Lovest thou Me? And he said to Him: 
Lord, Thou knowest all things : Thou knowest that I 
love Thee. He said to him: Feed My sheep. ,, Then 
the Lord foretold how the one-time faithless Apostle 
but now converted would prove the sincerity of his 



156 CHILDREN OF GOD 

love: "Amen, amen I say to thee, when thou wast 
younger, thou didst gird thyself, and didst walk where 
thou wouldst. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt 
stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, 
and lead thee whither thou wouldst not. And this He 
said, signifying by what death he should glorify 
God. . . . " 15-19. 

If these New Testament passages and others which 
might be adduced, do not mean that the Lord Jesus 
imparted to His Church indefectibility, infallibility, 
and supremacy or headship, it is hard telling what they 
really do mean. 

What Jesus willed should be attributes of His 
Church in the beginning, He also ordained should con- 
tinue to be her attributes until the end of time. What 
Jesus gave to Peter as the head of His Church, was 
to be the inheritance of Peter's successors in office, 
the Roman Pontiffs, the Popes of Rome. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

THE HUMAN IN THE CHURCH 

In their inquiries about the Catholic Church, non* 
Catholics never tire asking for a Biblical warrant for 
Catholic practices. The inquiries seem to assume that 
in God's Church there may not be anything which has 
not been enjoined by express divine revelation delivered 
before the death of the last of the Apostles; and, 
consequently, that the admixture of what is human in 
its origin, must be detrimental to the purity of the 
religion established by Christ Jesus. 

Such a view of Christ's religion is entirely foreign 
to Catholic belief. Catholics hold that anything and 
everything human which can be made to harmonize 
with revelation, may be adapted to the needs of the 
Church and of her ministry, as she may judge proper ; 
for Catholics do not regard the acceptance of super- 
naturally revealed religion to imply a divorce from 
human nature and its activities, but an elevation of 
both to a higher level. Neither do they believe that the 
profession of the faith of Christ does in any way 
interfere with the fullest legitimate exercise of human 
ingenuity, or with the use of the results of such in- 
genuity in furthering the greater effectiveness of theif 
devotional life and of the work of the Church gener- 

157 



158 CHILDREN OF GOD 

ally. They, however, insist most energetically that 
the teaching and governing authority of the Church is 
the only qualified judge who may finally determine 
what results of human effort do or do not harmonize 
with Christ's revealed religion and its practice. 

Hence the Church welcomes to her places of worship, 
rich stained windows, the noble productions of paint- 
ing and sculpture and of the plastic art; not indeed 
to offer them any divine worship, but to use them as 
aids to fix the attention of worshipers. In propor- 
tion as the aid received from her members permits, 
she erects the most artistic edifices which architects 
can devise and the skill of mechanics can execute. 
She adds attractiveness and splendor to her worship 
by the judicious use of flowers, lights, robes, music, 
and elaborate ceremonial. She fosters the study of 
every human science and puts the aspirants to her 
priesthood through a prolonged training in many 
branches of human learning. She accepts the findings 
of scientific investigation, and once they have been 
legitimately established, she uses them in the further- 
ance of her work whenever they are serviceable. The 
only science and results of human effort which she 
emphatically rejects and opposes, are those of fraudu- 
lent kinds. 

To this same attitude of acknowledging harmony be- 
tween the natural and supernatural, may be traced the 
multitude of opportunities for individual preferences 
in the matter of private devotions which the Church 
permits and fosters among her members. Their prac- 



THE HUMAN IN THE CHURCH 159 

tice is not enjoined, but permitted and encouraged 
among the faithful to whose piety they appeal. Catho- 
lic devotional books exhibit a great variety of these 
practices. In like manner does she provide for her 
members many diverse opportunities for aiding in her 
work for the benefit of mankind. Hence, the great 
array of her religious orders and congregations and 
associations for both men and women, such as: the 
Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, Pas- 
sionists, Brothers of Christian Schools, etc., for men; 
and the Sisterhoods founded for seclusion and prayer, 
for the care of the orphan, sick, aged, wayward, and 
for the teaching of youth, such as the Sisters of Mercy, 
Sisters of Charity, the Little Sisters of the Poor, 
the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Poor Clares, 
etc. 

Catholics do not claim that these manifestations of 
the Church's intense spiritual vitality, were expressly 
included in the collection of doctrines and ordinances 
which the Savior committed to the preaching of the 
Apostles : they do, however, claim, and justly so, that 
there is nothing at variance in these manifestations of 
intense spiritual life with the letter or spirit of God's 
revelation. They go farther, and maintain that there 
is perfect harmony between them. Yes, they go even 
farther than this; they insist that the substance, though 
not the precise concrete form of these manifestations 
of the Church's assimilative vitality, is suggested by 
revelation, and that these manifestations of life are 
lifted unto the supernatural level by the meaning which 



160 CHILDREN OF GOD 

the Church puts into them and by the motive which 
calls them forth and inspires them throughout. 

Catholics, therefore, do not understand and cannot 
admit that there is antagonism: between nature and 
grace, — sin and grace are in direct opposition, but not 
nature and grace; — between science and faith; — be- 
tween striving for success in earthly endeavor and 
Christian hope; — between the charity of Christ and 
sane philanthropy; — between variety in the manifesta- 
tions of the devotional spirit and true Christian wor- 
ship; — between entire loyalty to God's revelation and 
the use of the works of art in churches. What Catho- 
lics do insist on without any compromise, is, follow- 
ing in all such matters the guidance of the Church, 
whose judgment and prudence are safeguarded by the 
abiding presence and direction of the Holy Spirit. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

THE HOLY GHOST AND THE CHURCH 

A supernatural system of ministration such as the 
Church is, calls for truly extraordinary divine safe- 
guards against failure ; for the brainiest and best men 
are subject to too many limitations, to manage suc- 
cessfully an institution so wonderful as the Church 
of Jesus Christ must be. If left to mere man, the 
Church must be a failure, man being what he is known 
now to be. The long and sad history of heresy, and 
of sinfulness among the members of the Church in all 
ages, is proof of this statement. The great heresy of 
the sixteenth century, which is known as the Reforma- 
tion, continues from day to day to show more tangibly, 
what the fate of the Church of Jesus Christ must be, 
if left to the management of man. Many originators 
of heresy and schism were decidedly gifted men; some 
of them were also very good men in a way: but see 
what a laughing-stock they have made of the 
Christian religion to the very heathen! If they be 
right, then Christ preached as many conflicting 
gospels as there are Protestant churches! How 
absurd ! 

God's safeguard against the failure of the true 
Church as an organized system of divine ministrations, 

161 



162 CHILDREN OF GOD 

is the ABIDING PRESENCE AND GUIDANCE 
OF THE HOLY GHOST, the Third Person of the 
Blessed Trinity. This faith is proclaimed by the 
Apostles' Creed; for its doctrines about the Church 
begin with: " I believe in the Holy Ghost." To this 
faith Catholics cling most tenaciously. It is not human 
cunning, or human power, or human wisdom, or other 
human accomplishments, which have kept the Church 
as a system true to her commission; but the ever watch- 
ful presence of the Holy Spirit does so keep her. 

The following passages from the New Testament 
bear out the correctness of this belief: " . V". And 
now I go to Him That sent Me, and none of you 
asketh Me: Whither goest Thou? But because I have 
spoken these things to you, sorrow hath filled your 
heart. But I tell you the truth : it is expedient to you 
that I go; for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come 
to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And 
when He is come, He will convince the world of sin, 
and of justice, and of judgment. Of sin: because 
they believed not in Me. And of justice: because I 
go to the Father ; and you shall see Me no longer. And 
of judgment: because the prince of this world is 
already judged. I have yet many things to say to you : 
but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the 
Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth. 
For He shall not speak of Himself; but what things 
soever He shall hear, He shall speak; and the things 
that are to come, He shall show you. He shall glorify 
Me; because He shall receive of Mine, and shall show 



HOLY GHOST AND THE CHURCH 163 

it to you. All things whatsoever the Father hath, are 
Mine. Therefore I said, that He shall receive of 
Mine, and show it to you." John XV. 5-15. — " And I 
will ask the Father, and He shall give you another 
Paraclete, that He may abide with you forever. The 
Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive, be- 
cause it seeth Him not, nor knoweth Him; but you 
shall know Him : because He shall abide with you, 
and shall be in you. . . . These things have I spoken 
to you, abiding with you. But the Paraclete, the Holy 
Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, He 
will teach you all things, and bring all things to your 
mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you." John XV. 
16-17 and 25-26. Immediately before His ascension, 
He commanded them to remain in Jerusalem until they 
should have received the Holy Ghost : " . . . But stay 
you in the city, until you be endued with power from 
on high." Luke XXIV. 49. In Acts, St. Luke narrates 
the incident more fully : " They therefore who were 
come together, asked Him, saying : Lord, wilt Thou at 
this time restore again the kingdom of Israel ? " How 
little they thought of a spiritual world-kingdom! 
Their view had not even then reached beyond the petty 
confines of Israel ! The Lord answered them :" . . . 
It is not for you to know the times or moments, which 
the Father hath put in His own power : but you shall 
receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, 
and you shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, and 
in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost 
parts of the earth. And when He had said these 



164 CHILDREN OF GOD 

things, while they looked on, He was raised up: and 
a cloud received Him out of their sight." I. 6-9. 

But what a change came over them, after they had 
received the Holy Ghost! Gradually they understood 
that their labor was to be, not for an earthly kingdom 
in Palestine, but for a spiritual world-kingdom! In 
the coming of the Holy Ghost on that first great Pente- 
cost, the Church received her divine Strengthener, 
Guide, and Manager. Christ Jesus had organized and 
established the system of her ministrations unto salva- 
tion; but actually starting the system on its work and 
managing it while at work unto the end of time, are 
committed to the Holy Spirit. He is the power from 
on high safeguarding the Church, as the living 
organism of God's family of adopted children on earth, 
against failure. 

It was so understood in the days of the Apostles. 
At the first Council of the Church, held in Jerusalem, 
the Apostles made known officially to converts from 
heathenism their momentous decision anent the Law 
of Moses in its bearing on Christians, using this 
formula : " For it hath seemed good to the Holy 
Ghost and to us, to lay no further burden upon you 
than these necessary things: that you abstain from 
things sacrificed to idols. . . ." x\cts XV. 28-29. 

St. Paul exhorting the Elders at Ephesus to be 
vigilant in attending to their pastoral duties, spoke 
to them thus : " Take heed to yourselves, and to the 
whole flock, wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you 
bishops, to rule the Church of God, which He hath 



HOLY GHOST AND THE CHURCH 165 

purchased with His own blood." Acts XX. 28. In the 
thirteenth chapter of the same book, is found this 
passage : " Now there were in the church which was at 
Antioch, prophets and doctors, among whom was 
Barnabas, and Simon who was called Niger, and 
Lucius of Cyrene, and Manahen who was the foster 
brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. And as they 
were ministering to the Lord, and fasting, the Holy 
Ghost said to them : Separate Me Saul and Barnabas, 
for the work whereunto I have taken them. Then they, 
fasting and praying, imposing their hands upon them 
sent them away. So they being sent by the Holy 
Ghost, went to Seleucia : and from thence they sailed 
to Cyprus." 1-4. When St. Peter reproached Ana- 
nias, he said: "... Ananias, why hath Satan 
tempted thy heart, that thou shouldst lie to the Holy 
Ghost, and by fraud keep part of the price of the land? 
. . . Thou hast not lied to men, but to God." Acts 
V. 3-4. Writing to the Corinthians St. Paul bears this 
witness to the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church : 
"Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man 
speaking by the Spirit of God, saith Anathema to 
Jesus. And no man can say the Lord Jesus, but by 
the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of graces, 
but the same Spirit; and there are diversities of minis- 
tries, but the same Lord; and there are diversities of 
operation, but the same God, Who worketh all in all. 
And the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every 
man unto profit. To one indeed, by the Spirit, is 
given the word of wisdom : and to another the word 



166 CHILDREN OF GOD 

of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; to another, 
the grace of healing in one Spirit : to another, the work- 
ing of miracles : to another, prophecy, to another, the 
discerning of spirits; to another, diverse kinds of 
tongues; to another, interpretation of speeches. But 
all things one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing 
to every one according as He will. For as the body is 
one, and hath many members; and all the members of 
the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body, so 
also is Christ. For in one Spirit were all baptized into 
one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or 
free; and in one Spirit we have all been made to 
drink." I. Cor. XII. 3-13. And thus in the writings 
of the Apostles is there reference to the guiding, con- 
trolling, and managing influence of the Holy Ghost in 
the work of the Church. 

The constant practice of Catholics, even more than 
official definitions of doctrine, points clearly to the con- 
tinuance of this belief in the abiding and guiding 
presence of the Holy Spirit. This belief inspires and 
sustains that trusting reliance of Catholics on the 
Church; for they know on the strength of God's word, 
that her safeguard against failure and the promise of 
her success are built not on the ability, sanctity, and 
far-reaching influence of great men, but on the power 
from on high, the Paraclete. 

Charismata. Just how this divine safeguard and 
promise work out in detail, Catholics often do not 
know; neither are they overcurious to find out: for 
they realize that : " As it is not good for a man to 



HOLY GHOST AND THE CHURCH 167 

eat too much honey, so he that is a searcher of majesty, 
shall be overwhelmed by glory." Prov. XXV. 2J. It 
is entirely enough for them to be aware, that the Holy 
Ghost is with the Church, watching over her and guid- 
ing her as only God can. 

However, they have not been left altogether in the 
dark about the methods of this guidance. As need 
arises, God imparts to some of His adopted children 
a greater abundance of gifts of the unusual kind, whose 
purpose is not so much the sanctification of the in- 
dividual as the up-building of the Church from within 
or for her advancement without. The Apostle of the 
Gentiles enumerates some of these in the last passage 
from his writings given above, and again in the con- 
cluding verses of the same chapter: " And God indeed 
hath set some in the Church; first apostles, secondly 
prophets, thirdly doctors; after that miracles; then 
the graces of healings, helps, governments, kinds of 
tongues, interpretations of speeches. Are all apostles? 
Are all prophets? Are all doctors? Are all workers 
of miracles? Have all the grace of healing? Do all 
speak with tongues? Do all interpret?" Notice, how 
the Apostle insists on the fact that these gifts are not 
common to all the members of the Church; some have 
one gift; and others, another. He devotes the 
fourteenth chapter of the same letter to setting down 
rules for the orderly exercise of two of these gifts 
in the Church. 

Prior to His ascension into heaven, the Lord Jesus 
enumerated in another form some of these gifts after 



168 CHILDREN OF GOD 

this wise : " And He said to them : Go ye into the 
whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 
He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but 
he that believeth not shall be condemned. And these 
signs shall follow them that believe: In My name 
they shall cast out devils: they shall speak with new 
tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they shall 
drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they 
shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall 
recover. And the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to 
them was taken up into heaven, and sitteth on the right 
{land of God." Mark. XVI. 15-19. 

In the early days of the Church, these gifts were very 
frequently bestowed and their exercise was quite no- 
ticeable ; but it would be a mistake to assume that they 
iwere imparted to every convert or that those who had 
been thus favored, could use their gift at pleasure. St. 
Paul certifies to the contrary, as may be gathered from 
the passages given above. The purposes of these gifts 
-were to advertise the new kingdom of the adopted 
children of God and to furnish startling evidence in 
its support, — evidence which could be readily under- 
stood even by the least educated : " Wherefore tongues 
are for a sign, not to believers, but to unbelievers ; but 
prophecies not to unbelievers, but to believers. If there- 
fore the whole church come together into one place, 
and all speak with tongues, and there come in unlearned 
persons or infidels, will they not say that you are mad? 
But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believ- 
eth not, or an unlearned person, he is convinced of all, 



HOLY GHOST AND THE CHURCH 169 

he is judged of all. The secrets of his heart are made 
manifest; and so falling down on his face, he will 
adore God, affirming that God is among you indeed." 
I. Cor. XIV. 22-25. When, therefore, these gifts were 
no longer needed either for advertising or for proving 
in a striking manner, they were less frequently be- 
stowed and their exercise was less startling; for it 
would be presumption to expect the Lord to work won- 
ders, when ordinary aids suffice. 

But the Church is never entirely without these gifts. 
In every age there have been as there are today, apos- 
tolic men who seek out the heathen who " sit in dark- 
ness, and in the shadow of death "; — missioners with 
the prophetic spirit who labor among the faithful for 
the reformation of morals, as did the prophets of old 
among the Israelites; — scholars singularly gifted for 
explaining the doctrines of the faith; — the age of 
miracles is never past; — the helps are amply repre- 
sented by the great number of men and women who 
devote their life to every form of personal service of 
charity; — the Church is never without men whose 
aptitude for government is truly remarkable ; — neither 
is the gift of tongues and of interpretation of speeches 
wanting, otherwise how explain the ability of the vast 
army of Catholic men and women who labor for the 
salvation of the heathen whose language is foreign to 
the workers ? 

The name used in Catholic schools for these 
methods by which the Holy Ghost works in the Church, 
is charismata or gratice gratis data. The meaning of 



170 CHILDREN OF GOD 

the names is, extraordinarily supernatural gifts which 
are imparted to some only, primarily for the good of 
the Church and not primarily for the sanctification of 
the recipients. — This much will suffice to show that God 
has not left us entirely in the dark about the methods 
of the Holy Spirit's working in the Church. 

Any one who grasps this belief of Catholics in the 
abiding presence, guidance, and control of the Holy 
Ghost will realize how they can be so tranquil over con- 
ditions which might otherwise shock. It is largely due 
to this belief, that the presence of sinners, even in high 
places at times, the occasional administrative blunders 
of some in authority, the meager attainments of those 
who now and then get into offices of responsibility, and 
other like human conditions, do not worry Catholics; 
for they are confident that the Holy Spirit can turn 
even these conditions and worse to good account for 
safeguarding the Church as the divinely constituted 
organism of ministering to God's family of adopted 
children on earth. They are mindful of the words of 
the Apostle: " But the foolish things of the world hath 
God chosen, that He may confound the wise; and the 
weak things of the world hath God chosen, that He 
may confound the strong. And the base things of the 
world, and the things that are contemptible, hath God 
chosen, and the things that are not, that He may bring 
to naught things that are : that no flesh may glory in 
His sight." I Cor. I. 27-29. 

The Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth cen^ 
tury, was the work of Catholics who rebelled against 



HOLY GHOST AND THE CHURCH 171 

the Church. For those who did not understand her 
safeguarding from on high, the great and painful 
falling away made the outlook very dark; but the 
Church came forth out of the turmoil, stronger and 
more glorious than ever. The Holy Spirit used 
Protestantism as a leverage to root out from among the 
members of the Church, not from the Church as the 
divinely established system of religion, hurtful human 
growths which were hampering her work. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS 

A most delightful doctrine of the Catholic Church, 
is that of the Communion of Saints. It follows quite 
obviously from the doctrine of supernatural rehabili- 
tation through the new birth in water and the Holy- 
Ghost. Baptism is the new birth whereby one is ad- 
mitted to the family of God's adopted children. The 
Church established by Jesus Christ is this family. 

The Communion of Saints is the brotherly spirit 
dominating the adopted children of God. It is the 
reciprocal sharing in the good things of the heavenly 
Father's house. It is the mutual spiritual aid extended 
to one another by the adopted brothers and sisters of 
Christ Jesus. It is the home-spirit supernaturally 
worked into the religious life of man. 

In the Catholic Church there is fellowship among 
all members; even with those who have departed from 
this life, as is so touchingly manifested in Catholic 
veneration of the Saints and in prayers for the Souls 
in Purgatory. All the spiritual supernatural wealth of 
the Church, represented by her sacred ministrations, 
may be shared by every one according to his need. 
All help one another. The Church's many methods for 
dispensing services of charity and mercy are the won- 

172 



THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS 173 

der and envy of the non-Catholic world. The best 
treasures of the Church are as accessible to the least 
Catholic as to the Pope himself. 

God's family, the Church, is divided into two sec- 
tions: the children who have reached their Father's 
house, or nearly so; and the children who are still on 
the way to that home of eternal blessedness. The 
former are the Saints who have passed through the 
door leading to that home. This door is a holy death 
in the Lord. The latter is made up of those children 
of God who still dwell in mortal flesh, waiting for the 
death which is precious in the sight of the Lord. The 
former section is the Church Triumphant. It is made 
up of those who have won out in the fight against the 
concupiscence of the flesh and the concupiscence of 
the eyes and the pride of life and the devil. The 
latter section is the Church Militant. It is made up of 
those who are still under the dire necessity of daily 
fighting the same battle which their brothers and sisters 
fought before entering into the glory of life ever- 
lasting. 

Both sections of the Church have two grades of 
members: those who have attained to full member- 
ship; and those whose membership is limited. The 
Saints in heaven enjoy full membership in the Church 
Triumphant; for they see God face to face. The 
membership of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, is 
limited; for, whilst their eternal salvation is absolutely 
certain and secured, they have not as yet been admitted 
to the vision of God: but this limitation is only for a 



174 CHILDREN OF GOD 

time ; for as soon as they shall have paid the last farth- 
ing of the debt due to divine justice at the time of 
death, they too shall be admitted to the vision of God. 
Ordinarily Catholics call this subdivision, the Suffer- 
ing Church. The Catechism of the Council of Trent 
says : " The Church consists principally of two parts, 
the one called the Church Triumphant, the other, the 
Church Militant." 

Those who enjoy full membership in the Militant 
Church or God's family on earth, are baptized persons 
who are free from grievous personal sin, and, there- 
fore, in a state of grace. The limited membership of 
the Church Militant comprises baptized persons who 
have had the misfortune to lapse into grievous personal 
sin for which they have not as yet obtained God's par- 
don. Through the baptismal character they are still 
adopted children of God; but they are wayward chil- 
dren who have lost the good will of their heavenly 
Father through the failure of that charity which re- 
veals itself in the keeping of the commandments. 
These can regain full membership in the Church Mili- 
tant by seeking reconciliation with God through the 
worthy reception of the Sacrament of Penance, or, as 
Catholics familiarly express it, by making a good con- 
fession. When the Lord preached the Parable of the 
Wheat and Tares, He taught plainly enough that sin- 
fulness does not deprive the offender completely of 
membership. The servants would have plucked out 
the tares; but their master bade them: " No, lest per^ 
haps gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat 



THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS 175 

also together with it. Suffer both to grow until the 
harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the 
reapers: Gather up first the cockle, and bind it into 
bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into my 
barns. ,, Matth. XIII. 29-30. Separating the good 
from the bad in this life, is too delicate an operation 
to be intrusted to mortal men. Besides, Christ came 
to save sinners. He committed the same work to His 
Church. How save them by driving them away or 
casting them out? 

The beautiful doctrine of the Communion of the 
Saints is the basis for many consoling Catholic prac- 
tices. Most prominent among them is the singular de- 
votion to the sacred humanity of the Lord and Savior, 
Christ Jesus, revealing itself in the remembrance of His 
Passion and Death, in the practice of the Way of the 
Cross, in the worship of the Sacred Heart, and in the 
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; for Jesus is not 
only God and man, but He is also the firstborn among 
many brethren. He is the eldest brother of God's 
children; they are adopted, but He is the Only Begot- 
ten. Then there is the soothing veneration of the 
Mother of Jesus, imparting to Catholic worship that 
sweet solace which the thought of mother involves. 
Jesus gave her to us to be our spiritual mother, a 
mother by adoption. The honor paid to the saints in 
heaven is the jubilant remembrance of brothers and 
sisters who have received the " crown of justice/' and 
who make intercession for us before the Throne of 
Mercy, The suffrages offeree! fpr the Poor Souls in 



176 CHILDREN OF GOD 

Purgatory is help given to departed ones who may be 
spiritually in need; for they too are our brothers and 
sisters who are loved of God. What a comfort to be 
able to believe that even after death, our dead are not 
entirely dead to us and not beyond the reach of our 
help, nor we objects of indifference to them. 

Belief in the doctrine of the Communion of Saints, 
accounts for pictures and statues of saints in Catho- 
lic churches and homes. It explains why so much 
care is taken of the remains of the saintly dead, and 
why Catholics consider themselves privileged when 
ever so small a relic of Saints comes into their posses- 
sion. The practice the world over of treasuring pic- 
tures of one's dead, a lock of their hair, a letter in 
their handwriting, anything belonging to them, is 
cherished also by the adopted children of God in 
their mutual relations with one another. 

The Gift of Piety is the divine instinct by which 
the Holy Ghost moves the members of the Church 
more and more towards the affectionate manifesta- 
tions of the family-spirit in the practice of reli- 
gion. There is no danger of idolatry or of any other 
form of undue worship; for the least among Catho- 
lics understands that divine honors may be paid to 
God alone and to His Christ; all others receive only 
what dutiful children give to mother, brothers, and 
sisters. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

LIFE AFTER DEATH 

Belief in eternal life after death is essential to 
Catholic faith; for the Apostle declared: "For if 
the dead rise not again, neither is Christ risen again. 
And if Christ be not risen again, your faith is vain, 
for you are yet in your sins. Then they also that are 
fallen asleep in Christ, are perished. If in this life 
only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most 
miserable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, the 
first fruits of them that sleep: for by a man came 
death, and by a man resurrection of the dead. And as 
in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made 
alive." I. Cor. XV. 

But existence in eternity will not be the same for all 
men: for many it will be the fullness of the life of 
blessed filial companionship with God as Father Who 
superabundantly recompenses His faithful children, 
enabling them to see Him forever face to face; fotf 
many it will be exclusion from this blessed com- 
panionship. The former is called heaven and the 
latter, gehenna or hell. 

Catholics believe in three different kinds of exclu- 
sion from filial companionship with God. They are 
called: purgatory; limbo; and hell. The first is an 

177 



178 CHILDREN OF GOD 

exclusion for a time only; but the other two are 
eternal. The second of these is without suffering; 
but the other two involve very much suffering. 

Heaven. Heaven is the eternal home of those 
who on earth lived the life of dutiful children or who 
at least died as such. Heaven is the fullness of most 
intense life with God and His elect, seeing Him face to 
face as He is, possessing Him as the reward exceeding 
great, loving Him with an eternal beatific love, and 
enjoying the glorified life in a way that "eye hath 
not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into 
the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for 
them that love Him. ,, I. Cor. II. 9. 

Purgatory. Purgatory is the antechamber to 
heaven. They who get there are absolutely sure of 
their salvation, and, therefore, of ultimately reaching 
heaven. Hence, purgatory is not a permanent condi- 
tion. It is the temporary exclusion from companion- 
ship with God and His elect, in punishment for lesser 
sins of which one happened to be guilty at the time of 
death, or for failure to have made proper satisfaction 
for other sins committed after baptism or for both. 
Souls condemned to this temporary exclusion, endure 
great sufferings. The very exclusion itself inflicted as 
a penalty, is the greatest torture. From the way the 
Apostle writes, it may be inferred that they also en- 
dure the agonies of a mysterious fire: " If any man's 
work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be 
saved, yet so as by fire." I. Cor. III. 15. 

God does not make known how long this exclusion 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 179 

shall last; but it certainly shall come to an end for all 
on the judgment day, when Christ the Lord, the Su- 
preme judge of all mankind, will render to every one 
according to the works which he hath done in the 
flesh. 

As a consequence of the doctrine of the Communion 
of Saints, Catholics believe most firmly that they can 
help to shorten the period of this painful exclusion 
from the beatific vision of God. The methods for 
thus aiding the Suffering Souls are prayers, almsgiving, 
fasting, other works of self-punishment, and by the 
offering of the Sacrifice of the Mass. However, they 
do not claim that such works of satisfaction ac- 
complish their purpose independently of the entirely 
free acceptance of God; for He alone can deliver 
Souls from Purgatory and He alone does it. He has 
not committed this power to priest, bishop, or Pope; 
for their power to bind and loose is for the faithful on 
earth : " And I will give to thee the keys of the 
kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind 
upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven : and what- 
soever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also 
in heaven. II. Matth. XVI. 19. Because it is unknown 
whether or not God has accepted these satisfactions for 
the Souls for whom they were offered, Catholics con- 
tinue to pray for their own dead and also for all the 
Poor Souls in Purgatory, as the Church too does daily 
in the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. 

The doctrine of purgatory is one of the most com- 
forting teachings of the Catholic Church. It is also 



180 CHILDREN OP GOD 

well-grounded in the Scriptures. Judas Machabeus 
sent to Jerusalem the money needed to provide the 
wherewith to offer Mosaic sacrifices for the dead. The 
account closes with these words : " It is therefore a 
holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead, 
that they may be loosed from their sins." II. Mach. 
XII. 46. There is only one meaning which can be 
sanely taken from these words. It is that there is a 
temporary middle state between heaven and hell, after 
death : for prayers cannot loose the reprobate from 
their sins, because their lot is sealed for eternity; the 
elect in heaven have no sins from which to be loosed, 
because into that blessed abode nothing defiled can 
enter ; consequently, the prayers must be for souls who 
are sure of life everlasting, but who are withheld from 
entering thereon by lesser guilt. The state of these 
souls Catholics call Purgatory. The name itself is not 
found in the Bible; but what the name stands for, is a 
doctrine taught by the Bible. 

Limbo. A too much unknown and much mis- 
understood doctrine of the Catholic Church is the one 
about Limbo. Whilst not one of her defined doctrines, 
no Catholic ventures to question its truth; for the 
teaching of those who denied it, has been censured. 
Limbo is the name for the eternal exclusion from the 
beatific companionship with God as Father, for those 
who during mortal life did not incur any grievous 
personal guilt, but who also had the misfortune of not 
obtaining the remission of original sin through the 
baptism either of water, or of desire, or of blood. 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 181 

They who are thus excluded from heaven, do not suf- 
fer. They enjoy natural happiness. Some claim for 
them a high degree of such happiness; but it is only 
of the kind which devout men, left to themselves, 
could enjoy here on earth. There is in it none of the 
blessedness of beatific companionship with God Him- 
self such as the elect enjoy. 

This exclusion is the unfortunate lot of unbaptized 
children who die before reaching the age of reason, 
and also of all other unbaptized persons who never 
attain to the use of reason; for neither of these classes 
of persons can incur the guilt of grievous personal 
sin, because the actual use of intelligence is necessary 
for the commission of sin, neither can they, for the 
same cause, elicit the acts which are required for the 
baptism of desire. They can, however, receive the 
martyr's crown. 

To save their offspring from the danger even of this 
painless exclusion from supernatural companionship 
with God, Catholics who are in earnest about their 
religion, have their babes baptized at an early date 
after birth ; for they are mindful of the Savior's words : 
" Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless one be born again 
of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the 
kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh, is 
flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit/' 
John III. 5-6. 

Believing, as they so justly do, in the necessity of 
infant baptism, Catholics are amazed at the indifference 
of so many non-Catholic parents who neglect having 



182 CHILDREN OF GOD 

their little ones baptized. Eventually they certainly 
shall have to concede themselves to have been in the 
wrong. Then these very parents shall learn to their 
great sorrow that they were the worst and most cruel 
enemies of their babes who died before attaining the 
age of reason. What a revelation the day of judgment 
will bring for them! But what shall the retribution 
be? 

Hell. Hell is the eternal prison of despair and 
unspeakable horror for all those, baptized and unbap- 
tized, who die, having on their conscience the guilt of 
unforgiven grievous personal sin. No matter how 
many or how great the sins committed during life may 
be, they will not entail the penalty of hell fire for those 
who depart this life sincerely and fully repentant. 
Only those who are unrepentant even in death, shall 
be lost eternally. What is more, hell is the punishment 
for grievous personal sin only. 

The worst agony of hell is the constant terrible 
realization of one's loss, and that through one's own 
personal fault the blessed companionship with God 
has been forfeited. The tortures of mind and heart 
which are inseparable from being eternally in contact 
with criminal classes and with malevolent fallen angels 
in the midst of the fire prepared for the devil and his 
angels, are frightful enough to terrify any one; but the 
anguish caused by them, will be trifling when com- 
pared with the pain of the loss of the beatific vision 
and of the blessed companionship with God as Father. 

There is real fire in hell, for Christ so declared. 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 183 

But just what that fire is, has not been made known 
to us, further than that it is a fire prepared for the devil 
and his angels. It is also a physical fire; for the 
bodies of the damned shall be tortured by it. There- 
fore, not a real fire only, or simply a spiritual fire; but 
also a physical fire. To have been told this much, is 
sufficient for faith. Curiosity would like to know 
more; but they who trust God, will be satisfied with 
the words of the divine judge: "... Depart from 
Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was pre- 
pared for the devil and his angels." Matth. XXV. 41. 

Resurrection of the Body. Man is partly body 
and partly spirit; in part animal and in part angel. 
When they are separated, the body is a corpse and 
the soul is without the partner of her destiny. Only 
when the two are actually united, is man the complete 
being his Creator meant him to be. 

Their separation by death was only conditionally 
planned by God. The condition was the faithlessness 
of Adam, the first representative of the human race: 
" Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this 
world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all 
men, in whom all have sinned." Rom. V. 12. Death 
in itself, a natural enough condition of man's com- 
posite being, would by God's infinite power have been 
prevented, had Adam been faithful to God. 

The reunion of body and soul in eternity is part 
of God's plan of rehabilitation of man through the 
redemption accomplished by Christ Jesus, the second 
representative of the human race : " For by a man 



184 CHILDREN OF GOD 

came death, and by a man the resurrection of the dead. 
And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be 
made alive. But every one in his own order: the 
firstfruits Christ, then that they are of Christ, who 
have believed in His coming. Afterwards the end, 
when He shall have delivered up the kingdom of God 
and the Father, when He shall have brought to naught 
all principality, and power, and virtue. For He must 
reign, until He put all His enemies under His feet. 
And the enemy death shall be destroyed last : . . . " 
I. Cor. XV. 21-26. 

Hence, the doctrine of the resurrection of the body 
stands forth so prominently in Catholic belief. On the 
Judgment Day, the power of God, and not any natural 
forces, shall cause the dead to come forth from the 
grave alive, having substantially the same body which 
they had during mortal life : " Who will grant me that 
my words may be written? who will grant me that 
they may be marked down in a book ? with an iron pen 
and in a plate of lead, or else be graven with an instru- 
ment in flint stone? For I know that my Redeemer 
liveth, and in the last day I shall rise out of the earth. 
And I shall be clothed again with my skin, and in 
my flesh I shall see my God. Whom I myself shall see, 
and my eyes shall behold, and not another; this my 
hope is laid up in my bosom. ,, Job. XIX. 23-27. 

But whilst substantially the same, the resurrected 
body shall be otherwise greatly changed. The Apostle 
of the Gentiles writes thus of the risen body : " But 
some man will say: How do the dead rise again? or 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 185 

with what manner of body shall they corne? Sense- 
less man, that which thou sowest is not quickened, 
except it die first. And that which thou sowest, thou 
sowest not the body that shall be; but bare grain, as 
of wheat, or of some of the rest. But God giveth it a 
body as He will: and to every seed its proper body. 
... So also in the resurrection of the dead. It is 
sown in corruption, it shall rise in incorruption. It is 
sown in dishonor, it shall rise in glory. It is sown in 
weakness, it shall rise in power. It is sown a natural 
body, it shall rise a spiritual body. . . . " I. Cor. XV. 
35-38 and 42-44. And : " But our conversation is in 
heaven : from whence also we look for the Savior, our 
Lord Jesus Christ, who will reform the body of our 
lowness, made like to the body of His glory, according 
to the operation whereby also He is able to subdue all 
things unto Himself." Phil. III. 20-21. The change 
in the bodies of the reprobate shall most assuredly not 
be unto glory ! 

Belief in the resurrection of the body is most reason- 
able ; for without the body, man would be an eternally 
incomplete being. Furthermore, since the body shared 
in the benefits of grace and virtuous living during 
mortal life, why should it not share in the reward? So 
too, the body was an accomplice in the doing of evil 
deeds, why should it escape the just retribution? 

The Great Judgment. At death every man ap- 
pears before the Divine Judge to be sentenced either 
for weal or woe. — The Savior foretold that there will 
also be a most solemn and public judgment, when all 



186 CHILDREN OF GOD 

mankind shall be assembled before His tribunal, to 
hear in the presence of all, the sentence of either eternal 
reward or eternal punishment : " And when the Son 
of man shall come in His Majesty, and all the angels 
with Him, then shall He sit upon the seat of His 
majesty : and all the nations shall be gathered together 
before Him, and He shall separate them one from 
another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the 
goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, 
but the goats on His left. Then shall the king say to 
them that shall be on His right hand: Come, ye 
blessed of My Father, possess you the kingdom pre- 
pared for you from the foundation of the world. For 
I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, 
and you gave Me to drink; I was a stranger, and you 
took Me in : naked, and you covered Me : sick, and you 
visited Me : I was in prison and you came to Me. Then 
shall the just answer Him, saying: Lord, when did we 
see Thee hungry, and feed Thee; thirsty, and gave 
Thee to drink ? And when did we see Thee a stranger, 
and took Thee in ? Or naked, and covered Thee ? Or 
when did we see Thee sick or in prison, and came to 
Thee? And the King, answering, shall say to them: 
Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of 
these My least brethren, you did it to Me. Then He 
shall say to them also that shall be on His left hand : 
Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which 
was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was 
hungry, and you gave Me not to eat; I was thirsty, 
and you gave Me not to drink. I was a stranger, and 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 187 

you took Me not in : naked, and you covered Me not : 
sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me. Then 
they also shall answer Him, saying: Lord, when did 
we see Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, 
or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to Thee? 
Then He shall answer them: Amen I say to you, as 
long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did 
you do it to Me. And these shall go into everlasting 
punishment : but the just into life everlasting." Matth. 
XXV. 31-48. Evidently much more than trust in 
justification through faith alone will be passed on 
before Christ's tribunal ! 



CHAPTER XXX 

RULE OF LIFE FOR ADOPTED CHILDREN OF GOD 

In Catholic devotional books, one is apt to come 
across the title : " A Rule of Life." The meaning of 
the title is obvious to devout Catholics: to those who 
are not of the fold, it may be somewhat of a puzzle. 
A rule of life is not a substitute for the Gospel of 
Christ. It is a selection of practices which are spe- 
cially helpful to the adopted children of God, to be 
more faithful to the requirements of their sublime 
calling. The practices selected are far-reaching in 
their application to the detail of daily life. The pur- 
pose of a rule of life is to stimulate souls to conform 
more and more to the standard of Catholic living. 

The Standard of Catholic Life. We live by 
standards. The Catholic standard of life is the imita- 
tion of Christ Jesus in the lowliness and obedience of 
His human life. God Himself has set this standard 
for all who would be saved. Their thoughts, affections, 
conduct, and aims, must conform to the example left 
us by the Son of God : " For whom He foreknew, He 
also predestinated to be made comformable to the 
image of His Son; that He might be the firstborn 
among many brethren. ,, Rom. VIII. 29. To live up 
to the requirements of this sublime standard is not an 

188 



RULE OF LIFE 189 

easy task; for the world proclaims unceasingly the 
gospel of pleasure and of the good time. Through the 
concupiscence of the eyes, the concupiscence of the 
flesh and the pride of life, the attractions to worldli- 
ness are most powerful. Only they who nerve them- 
selves against the deceits of the world and of 
worldliness by practices like the following, can hope 
to imitate Christ preseveringly. Explaining these prac- 
tices will furnish the occasion for calling attention to 
other Catholic doctrines and duties. 

Prayer. Prayer both public and private or indi- 
vidual is much in use among Catholics. This is as it 
should be; for prayer is affectionate talking to God 
about what is acceptable to Him as our Father and 
helpful to His adopted children. An energetic faith 
in the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of 
His elect is bound to flower into the practice of fre- 
quent prayer: " A good man out of the good treasure 
of his heart bringeth forth that which is good : and an 
evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that 
which is evil. For out of the abundance of the heart 
the mouth speaketh." Luke VI. 45. The neglect of 
prayer can be readily traced to a faith which falls 
short of what it should be. 

One may pray in thought and affections only, and 
one may speak his prayerful thoughts and affections 
either in a whisper or louder. The former is mental 
prayer and the latter is vocal prayer. 

Morning and Night Prayers. Earnest Catholics 
begin the day with prayer. They are urged to give 



190 CHILDREN OF GOD 

their first thoughts and affections of the new day to 
their Father Who is in heaven. It is the dutiful child's 
morning greeting to the tenderest of Fathers. So in 
like manner do they bid Him good night before re- 
tiring to rest. The one is the Morning Prayer, and the 
other is the Night Prayer. The former is thanks- 
giving for God's watchfulness over His children dur- 
ing the night, a begging for His aid to spend the day 
worthily in the avoidance of sin and in the doing of 
one's duty, and offering all that the day may bring for 
the greater honor and glory of God. The other is a 
brief devotional review of the day and its happenings, 
to thank the Lord for His favors and for the good 
accomplished, to crave His pardon for shortcomings, 
and to plead for His care during the night. 

Every one is at liberty to make up his own morning 
and evening prayers, or to read them from a book. 
Much or little time may be given to the practice : how- 
ever, the more of it, the better, when it is done 
devoutly and does not conflict with other duties. It 
would be mistaken piety, to neglect the obligations of 
one's state of life in order to devote to prayer more 
time than can be reasonably spared. But, there is 
little danger of people overdoing it. 

Prayer at Meals. Devout Catholics do not fail 
to pray both before and after meals, acknowledging 
thereby that all good things are gifts of God, which 
should be asked for and for which thanksgiving is 
due Him from His children. These prayers need not 
be long; neither is there any occasion for reciting them 



RULE OF LIFE 191 

ostentatiously, especially when at table with non-Catho- 
lics: under such circumstances, they may be offered 
mentally. In homes which are thoroughly Catholic, 
the entire family joins in offering meal prayers. 

Prayer When Tempted. In time of temptation 
to evil, earnest prayer for divine help to resist and 
conquer, is necessary. To neglect prayer under such 
stress, is most apt to be followed by wrongdoing; for 
the Lord said to His disciples : " Watch ye, and pray 
that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed 
is willing, but the flesh weak." Matth. XXVI. 41. 
Hence, prayer is more necessary in proportion as the 
temptation is more grievous. Only fools trust to their 
own strength and fail to ask God for assistance, when 
the provocations to evil in thought or desire or con- 
duct are insistent! 

Ejaculatory Prayers. The frequent offering of 
ejaculatory prayers is much recommended to Catho- 
lics. These prayers are short, but fervent, declara- 
tions of one's affections, addressed to God, to His 
Christ, to the Mother of Jesus, or the saints of God. 
They are also intensely earnest appeals for divine 
favors and aid. They are like so many heart-darts 
thrown heavenward; hence, their name. 

The following are samples of these prayers. " My 
God, and my all." " O God, grant that I may rather 
die than offend Thee ! " " O God, come to my assist- 
ance; O Lord make haste to help me." "Jesus, help 
me ! " " Heart of Jesus burning with love for us, in- 
flame our hearts with love for Thee ! " " Jesus, Mary, 



192 CHILDREN OF GOD 

and Joseph assist me in my last agony ! " " Holy 
Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me ! " " May 
the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy 
of God, rest in peace ! " " Eternal Father ! I offer Thee 
the precious Blood of Jesus in satisfaction for my 
sins, and for the wants of holy Church !" This last 
prayer lends itself readily to meet all the needs of the 
soul, by adding what the heart craves, such as: " in 
thanksgiving for all Thy favors ; " or, " for aid to rid 
myself of these evil thoughts; " or, " for the conver- 
sion of poor sinners; " or, " for the Poor Souls in 
Purgatory," etc. 

This method of prayer furnishes ample opportunity 
both for interweaving prayerfulness with every occu- 
pation and for giving free scope to each one's personal 
promptings and preferences. It is commendable to 
make up one's own prayers for private recitations. Of 
course, even such prayers should be in agreement with 
faith. The Psalms abound in most beautiful ejacula- 
tory prayers and furnish the model for others suited to 
every individual need. It is the kind of prayer which 
is especially suitable for all places, times, and employ- 
ment, even when at play or abed, for thoughts of God 
and affection for Him are always opportune. 

Choice Prayers. Set prayers most in use among 
Catholics are: The Lord's Prayer; — the Hail Mary; — 
the Glory be to the Father; — the Apostle's Creed; — 
the Rosary, which is a combining the four just men- 
tioned, with the remembrance of incidents in the 
Savior's life; — acts of faith, hope, charity, and sor- 



RULE OF LIFE 193 

row for sin; — the Angelus three times daily at the 
sound of the bell; — the offering of the day and all its 
happenings for the glory of God and the good of 
souls. 

Prayers for Mankind. They who realize what it 
means to be adopted children of God are not selfish 
in their pleadings with Divine Mercy; for they pray 
for all men, even for their enemies. Hence, Catholics 
pray for those who are not of the fold that they may 
receive the gift of membership; — for sinners that they 
may be converted; — for one's family, friends, coun- 
try, and government; — for the Church; — for the Poor 
Souls in Purgatory that the day of their entrance into 
the blessedness of heaven may be hastened. The fa- 
vors which may be asked for, are all the needs of life, 
temporal necessaries included; always, however, sub- 
servient to the greatest of all blessings which is that 
God may be known, loved, and obeyed in this life, in 
order to be happy with Him and His elect in eternity. 

Posture When Praying. Whilst one may pray in 
any posture, standing, walking, sitting, even when 
abed, alone or in company, at work and whilst play- 
ing; yet in church and in the privacy of their homes, 
Catholics usually kneel. Prayers at meals are recited 
standing; morning and evening prayers are offered 
kneeling. — What should always be avoided is parad- 
ing the fact of one's prayer : " And when ye pray, you 
shall not be as the hypocrites that love to stand and 
pray in synagogues and corners of the streets, that 
they may be seen by men : Amen I say to you, they 



194 CHILDREN OF GOD 

have received their reward. But thou when thou shalt 
pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the 
door, pray to thy Father in secret: and the Father 
Who seeth in secret will reward thee." Matth. VI. 
5-6. — There is no more secret chamber than the pri- 
vacy of one's own spirit. Hence, interior prayer is 
always prayer in secret, regardless of the surround- 
ings in which it is offered. 

Wordy Prayers. The Savior also cautions against 
indulging in long speeches when praying, and against 
behaving as if we thought prayer necessary to en- 
lighten God about our many needs. One purpose of 
prayer is to make us realize our needs and to bring 
home to ourselves from Whom assistance must be 
sought. God wishes us to understand how poor we 
are and how frail, in order that we may be induced 
to have recourse to Him as children who trust their 
parents and lean on their support. " And when you 
are praying speak not much, as the heathen. For they 
think in their much speaking they may be heard. Be 
not you therefore like to them, for your Father 
knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask 
Him." Matth. VI. 7-8. 

Public Worship. The first point of a Rule of 
Life is prayer, frequent, earnest prayer; for without 
God's aid no one can live worthily. " Watch ye, 
therefore, praying at all times, that you may be ac- 
counted worthy to escape all those things that are to 
come, and stand before the Son of man." Luke 
XXI. 36. The second point of a Rule of Christian 



RULE OF LIFE 195 

Life is taking part in the family worship of God's 
adopted children. The devotional services of the 
Church constitute this worship. The central and dis- 
tinctive worship of the Catholic Church is the offering 
of the Sacrifice of Christ's Body and Blood under the 
appearances of bread and wine. The popular name 
for this Sacrifice is " The Mass." 

Catholics are required to be present at Mass on all 
Sundays and on a few holy days. These holy days num- 
ber six for the United States of America. Inexcusable 
failure to comply with this duty entails the guilt of 
grievous sin. The fidelity of the bulk of Catholics 
in complying with this duty, notwithstanding the ma- 
terialistic conditions of present-day life, is evidence 
of the sincerity of their faith and of their willingness 
to make sacrifices for it. 

The members of the Church are much urged to 
attend also Sunday afternoon or evening services, to 
assist at Mass daily when able, and to take part in 
other services of which there are many throughout 
the year; but the obligation to do so is not of the kind 
which renders transgressors guilty of grievous sin. In 
proportion as the devotional spirit takes possession of 
the adopted children of God, will they also be zealous 
to avail themselves of every opportunity to unite with 
the Church, their spiritual mother, in honoring and 
glorifying their Father Who is in heaven. 

In addition to church-going, Catholics set aside one 
day out of every seven in order to be at leisure to 
care better for the interests of the soul and to be able 



196 CHILDREN OF GOD 

to devote more time to the worship of God. Sundays 
and holy days are days of rest from all unneces- 
sary servile labor. However, innocent amusements, 
which do not interfere with divine service are 
not forbidden. To engage in unnecessary servile labor 
is a sin. The length of time so employed determines 
the gravity of the offense. 

Whilst the Mosaic sabbatical laws do not oblige any 
longer, they are tangible evidence of the spiritual im- 
portance attached to the observance of one day of 
religious rest out of every seven. The evil effects on 
the individual and society at large, which accompany 
the neglect of devout Sunday observance, should con- 
vince all that the Lord still requires setting aside one 
day out of seven for rest and worship as His Church 
may determine. 

Remembrance of the Crucified. All the spiritual 
benefits which God's adopted children enjoy are the 
fruits of Christ's redemption through His sufferings 
and His death on the cross. The Church labors to 
keep the remembrance of this blessed truth ever fresh 
among her members, using for this purpose devotional 
practices which have the Crucified for their object. 

Sign of the Cross. The most frequently used of 
these practices is the Sign of the Cross on one's per- 
son. With the tips of the open right hand, the fore- 
head is touched, next the breast, then the left shoul- 
der, and lastly the right shoulder. The lines drawn 
by this action form the shape of a cross. Whilst mak- 
ing this cross, these words are spoken : " In the name 



RULE OF LIFE 197 

of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
Amen." These words in conjunction with the sign 
of the cross thus made, are meant to be a profession 
of faith in the Unity of Being and the Trinity of 
Persons in God, and in the redemption of mankind 
through the death of Christ on the Cross. 

From earliest childhood, through life, and when the 
end draws near, Catholics never tire of this token of 
their grateful remembrance of what Jesus endured for 
the love and salvation of man. They begin their 
prayers with it. In times of temptation they use it 
as a shield against the assaults of evil. Even way- 
ward members of the Church cling to it, notwithstand- 
ing their aberrations. It seems to be a last devotional 
link which holds them to God's family. 

A variation of the Sign of the Cross is making a 
small cross with the thumb of the closed right hand 
on the forehead, saying, " In the name of the Fa- 
ther;" then on the lips, saying, "and of the Son;" 
lastly, on the bosom, saying, " and of the Holy 
Ghost, Amen." The symbolism of it is easily divined; 
faith in the mind; love in the heart; and profession of 
one's loyalty to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and 
to Christ the Redeemer, both with one's lips and con- 
duct. At times such a cross is made on the lips only, 
or over the heart only, as a protest against evil or 
as profession of affection as the devotion of the indi- 
vidual may determine. 

Cross and Crucifix. Sincere faith in Christ's re- 
demption as the source of all our blessedness is re- 



198 CHILDREN OF GOD 

vealed also in the use of the Cross and of the Crucifix. 
The difference between the two is, that the former is 
without a figure of the Christ, whilst the latter has it. 
The cross is found at some prominent exterior point of 
Catholic churches and institutions, generally on the 
highest point. The crucifix is placed on every altar. 
When people are well enough off to afford it and 
there is a suitable site for it, Catholics have a large 
crucifix in some conspicuous place in their houses of 
worship. — The " Rood-Screen " is a striking feature 
of Catholic architecture in England. 

No Catholic home is furnished as it should be, as 
long as a fairly good-sized crucifix is missing. In 
proportion as the devotional spirit is more dominant, 
will the place of honor be assigned to it in the room 
made most of. Smaller crucifixes are placed in bed- 
rooms. Still smaller ones are carried about the per- 
son at all times by many Catholics, though there is no 
obligation so to do. 

Way of the Cross. A distinctive feature of Cath- 
olic churches is a series of fourteen representations, 
either in painting, print or statuary, fastened to the 
walls. Each one of these is surmounted by a small 
wooden cross. The representations exhibit each a dif- 
ferent incident of the sufferings of Christ, from His 
final condemnation by Pilate to His burial. Hence, 
the name: " Way of the Cross." The representations 
are meant to be aids to the grateful remembrance of 
Christ's love for mankind, as it is revealed in the 
sacrifice of His life for man. 



RULE OF LIFE 199 

The devotion of the Way of the Cross is practiced 
by moving from one representation to the other and 
halting for a little while before each. Whilst this is 
being done, the thoughts are made to dwell on what 
Christ endured for the salvation of souls, the heart 
is exercised in affections for Him and in resolves to 
imitate the examples of His virtuous behavior. 

Catholics are mindful of the sufferings of the 
Christ, not because they gloat over His agonies, but 
in compliance with His wishes; for He enjoined such 
remembrance in conjunction with the offering of the 
Sacrifice of the New Testament, the Mass : " For as 
often as you shall eat this bread and drink the chalice, 
you shall show the death of the Lord until He come." 
I. Cor. XL 26. What practice can be a stronger in- 
centive to godly living than calling to mind frequently 
the lessons taught by the suffering mortal life of the 
Christ! What can be a more effective object lesson 
for showing how displeasing to the heavenly Father 
is a sinful life! What can goad men on more forcibly 
to make sacrifices for their soul's salvation than re- 
calling often that Christ died the death of the cross 
to make salvation possible for them. 

Reception of the Sacraments. A most important 
practice of a Rule of Life is regularity and frequency 
in the reception of the Sacraments of Penance and of 
Holy Communion. The former is the divine remedy 
for spiritual disease or death brought on by sin; the 
latter is the spiritual nourishment to strengthen the 
children of God for living the Christlike life: "As 



200 CHILDREN OF GOD 

the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the 
Father; so he that eateth Me, the same shall live by 
Me." John VI. 58. 

Catholics are exhorted to receive Holy Communion 
daily, when possible. If prevented from so doing, 
they are urged to communicate every Sunday or at 
least monthly. All that is strictly needed for daily 
Communion is freedom from grievous sin and to re- 
ceive for the purpose of living a more saintly Christian 
life. Confession as a preparation for Communion is 
necessary only for those who have lapsed into grievous 
sin from which they have not as yet received sacra- 
mental absolution : " But let a man prove himself : and 
so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the chalice. 
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and 
drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body 
of the Lord." I. Cor. XI. 28-29. They who have 
not sinned grievously since their last worthy confess 
sion do not belong to the number of persons of whom 
the Apostle wrote. Their lesser sins should not keep 
them away from the Holy Table; for these do nol 
constitute the unworthiness of which the Apostle 
wrote. Thus taught the saintly Pope Pius X. 

The Sacrament of Penance is necessary for those 
only who have sinned grievously after Baptism ot 
since their last worthy confession; but devout Cath- 
olics receive the Sacrament often, many do so weekly 
even when their offenses are far from grievous. They 
tell their lesser sins and acknowledge in a general way 
the sinfulness of their previous life. They are en- 



RULE OF LIFE 201 

couraged so to do in order to receive not only pardon 
for their shortcomings but also an increase of grace 
and of the special aids against lapse into sin in the 
future. — To be a Catholic in good standing, one must 
confess at least once a year. 

They who are regular in the frequent reception of 
these Sacraments of divine generosity show forth the 
benefits thereof in the beauty of clean living. It could 
hardly be otherwise; for it is most unlikely that any 
one can continue the practice of the spiritual self- 
culture represented by the devout reception of these 
Sacraments, and at the same time fail to develop 
greater and greater Christliness in all his conduct. 
For this reason the Church never tires exhorting the 
faithful to cleanse their conscience from every stain 
through frequent confession and to seek spiritual 
strength against evil and for good from the more fre- 
quent eating of the Bread of Angels. 

Sorrow for Sin. A most helpful safeguard against 
wrong-doing is despising and hating it always more 
and more, because in itself it is so horrid, entails such 
hurtful consequences, and is so offensive to God. One 
is not apt to indulge in anything which he thus sin- 
cerely despises and hates. — Wrong-doing is the only 
really unmixed evil in the universe. To be guilty of 
it is the greatest of all misfortunes. 

To bring about this frame of mind, Catholics are 
taught to exercise themselves much in genuine sorrow 
for their transgressions, even the smallest. They are 
admonished to be sorry not only for recent sins but 



202 CHILDREN OF GOD 

also for those of long ago, and for forgiven sin. Yes, 
whilst reminding them that they may not entertain 
aught but pity for the unfortunate sinner, it is im- 
pressed on them to sorrow over the sins of others and 
of the whole world, because they are an outrage per- 
petrated against the infinite Sanctity of God Who is so 
deserving of all love. 

However, greatest stress is laid on sorrow for one's 
own unforgiven grievous sin; for whosoever is so 
tainted is by this fact alone an enemy of God and 
the sentence of eternal damnation hangs over him. 
Genuine Christian sorrow inspired by the love of God 
removes the taint, reconciles the offender with the 
Father Who is in heaven, and cancels the sentence of 
damnation. 

This is a most consoling doctrine of the Catholic 
Church; for it is a touching revelation of God's tender 
mercy. No matter how many one's sins or how great 
soever their guilt, God pardons the offender as soon 
as he despises and hates his wrong-doing above all 
else, sincerely wishes that he had not transgressed, 
and gives his word of honor to do his best to sin no 
more; all this because he loves God Who is so infi- 
nitely lovable and to Whom sin is so exceedingly dis- 
pleasing. To pardon so obtained, is attached the con- 
dition that the reconciled offender be resolved to con- 
fess these sins too to an authorized priest. Can 
greater leniency and condescension than this be ex- 
pected ? 

God's mercy being so generous, why would any of 



RULE OF LIFE 203 

His wayward children remain estranged from Him? 
Why not, at the earliest opportunity, plead with Him 
for the grace of true repentance, and then labor to 
arouse oneself to say sincerely from one's innermost 
soul : " My God and Father, I despise and hate my 
sins above all else, because they offend Thee Who art 
so good; I wish from my heart I had not sinned, be- 
cause by sin I displeased Thee; I am resolved to do 
all in my power to sin no more : because I love Thee 
above all for Thine own sake Who art so infinitely 
lovable." It can be expressed more briefly: "I hate 
my sins; I wish that I had not sinned; I will not sin 
again : because I love Thee, my God, above all." Of 
course, to speak such words with the lips only would 
be mockery. They must proceed from one's inner- 
most soul. — The spoken words are not even necessary ; 
the sentiments represented by them are sufficient for 
obtaining reconciliation. 

This belief explains why Catholics so often in their 
private and public devotions repeat the act of perfect 
contrition, and why they are urged to close the day 
with it; for who among men is entirely without sin 
for long? Only they who truly abhor it, can reason- 
ably hope for this special divine protection. They who 
think lightly of sin do not hesitate much to commit 
it when human passions clamor for gratification. 

Avoid Occasions of Sin. " Safety First " is the 
notice which, of late years, is posted wherever there 
is danger. It is a most sane caution. Only the fool- 
hardy run risks which can be avoided. 



204 CHILDREN OF GOD 

The Catholic Church never ceases inculcating the 
same caution in the matter of clean and godly living. 
There is safety in keeping away from provocations 
to wrong-doing. Avoidable association with gamblers, 
with those of evil tongue, with drunkards, with the 
immoral, and with other evil-doers, is very apt to 
bring about like conditions in one's own life. Shun 
such companionship. Safety First! To look upon 
what is indecent, to listen to what is filthy, to read 
what is suggestive, to take part in amusements of 
questionable propriety, to indulge in sentimental com- 
panionship with persons of the other sex, are condi- 
tions which make the chaste life morally impossible. 
Whoever would live a clean life, must shun these 
provocations to evil. Safety First! Pastime of some 
kind is necessary for all who would escape the afflic- 
tion of "nerves"; but there are pastimes which lead 
up to worse misfortunes than unbalanced nerves. 
There are only too many theatrical performances, 
moving-picture shows, dances, games wherein the 
sexes meet over-freely, parties and feastings where 
intoxicants are unduly used, which ignore wantonly 
the caution of Safety First. 

Whoever courts avoidable danger should not be sur- 
prised at being exposed to fierce assaults of tempta- 
tion. Whoever is responsible for being so assaulted 
shall most likely often succumb : " A hard heart shall 
fear evil at the last: and he that loveth danger shall 
perish in it." Eccli. III. 27. And: "He that 
toucheth pitch, shall be defiled with it: and he that 



RULE OF LIFE 205 

hath fellowship with the proud shall put on pride." 
Eccli. XIII. i. And: "If thy eye scandalize thee, 
pluck it out. It is better for thee with one eye to 
enter into the kingdom of God than having two eyes 
to be cast into the hell of fire: where their worm 
dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished." Mark 
IX. 46-47. 

To expose oneself unnecessarily to the proximate 
danger of sin, entails the guilt of the sin itself, even 
though the evil be not actually done. Proximate 
dangers are those in which the average man or 
woman is apt to go wrong. So, too, what is not a 
proximate danger for people generally, may be such 
for individuals, owing to temperament or habits of 
life. 

If neglecting Safety First is so wicked, what shall 
be said of children of God who lay snares for the 
spiritual ruin of the neighbor? "And He said to 
His disciples : It is impossible that scandals should not 
come: but woe to him through whom they come. It 
were better for him that a mill-stone were hanged 
about his neck and he cast into the sea, than that he 
should scandalize one of these little ones." Luke 
XVII. 1-2. Yet so many, otherwise apparently good 
people, think nothing of scandalizing others by putting 
in their way provocations to indecency, profanity, 
drunkenness, neglect of religion, etc: "The Son of 
man shall send His angels, and they shall gather out 
of His kingdom all scandals, and them that work 
iniquity, And shall cast them into the furnace of 



206 CHILDREN OF GOD 

fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 
Matth. XIII. 41-42. 

Self-Denial. Our Blessed Savior declared :" . . . 
If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, 
and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For who- 
soever will save his life shall lose it; for he that shall 
lose his life for My sake shall save it. For what is a 
man advantaged if he gain the whole world and lose 
himself, and cast away himself." Luke IX. 23-25. 

Psychologists write of self-denial under the names 
of inhibition, self-direction, self-control, self-compul- 
sion, self-possession, and moral discipline. They dis- 
cuss it from the viewpoint of natural conditions. 
Unfortunately their discussion is too often material- 
istic. The old-fashioned Catholic names for it are: 
mortification and self-crucifixion. The meaning of 
the first is, doing to death wayward propensities; but 
doing it for the soul's eternal salvation. St. Paul used 
the second. His meaning is obvious : " And they that 
are Christ's have crucified their flesh with the vices 
and concupiscences." Gal. V. 24. In earlier verses 
of the same chapter, he made plain what he means by 
the flesh: " Now the works of the flesh are manifest, 
which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, 
idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emula- 
tions, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, sects, envies, mur- 
ders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. Of the 
which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that 
they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom 
of God." In the second chapter of the s^me letter h§ 



RULE OF LIFE 207 

wrote these beautiful words which state the Christian 
purpose of self-denial: ". . . With Christ I am 
nailed to the cross. And I live, now not I; but Christ 
liveth in me. And that I live now in the flesh : I live 
in the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and 
delivered Himself for me." 

The purpose of Catholic self-denial is complete mas- 
tery over one's animal impulses and the entire subjec- 
tion of one's spirit to the teaching and example of 
Christ Jesus, in order to cooperate with God in work- 
ing out the soul's eternal salvation : " Know you not 
that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one 
receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain. 
And every one that striveth for the mastery, refraineth 
himself from all things: and they indeed that they 
may receive a corruptible crown; but we an incor- 
ruptible one. I therefore so run, not as at an uncer- 
tainty: I so fight, not as one beating the air: but I 
chastise my body, and bring it into servitude : lest per- 
haps, when I have preached to others, I myself should 
become a castaway." I. Cor. IX. 24-27. Without 
self-denial, mortification, and self-crucifixion, striving 
for salvation is like unto " beating the air." 

Catholics are taught from childhood to practice 
self-denial in many things which are not in themselves 
sinful, in order to be better prepared to do the same 
when there is question of what is surely sinful or con- 
ducive to sin. Of these practices the following may 
be mentioned: fasting, which is voluntarily enduring 
the discomforts of hunger without injuring health; 



208 CHILDREN OF GOD 

abstinence from flesh-meats at certain times; absti- 
nence from intoxicants; avoidance of effeminacy in 
food, housing, clothing, and even in sleep; watchful- 
ness over one's senses, denying them and the fancy 
what might be hurtful to saintliness; detachment from 
money through almsgiving and financial contributions 
to the work of the Church, — parting with money for 
unselfish purposes is harder for many people than even 
hunger; — personal service given to the sick and other- 
wise unfortunate; very much moderation in allowing 
oneself amusements; and by other conduct referred to 
above under the head of " Avoid the Occasions of 
Sin." 

The purpose of self-denial is not to torture the body, 
but to gain Christian self-mastery, to punish self for 
wrong done, and to train oneself to live more for 
what is healthful to the soul and useful for life ever- 
lasting than for what is agreeable to animal impulses 
and the enjoyment of the worldly life. The people 
more serenely contented and uniformly cheerful are 
they who practice Christian self-denial. 

Spiritual Study. Scholarship is not necessary for 
virtuous living; but knowledge of one's calling and 
of its requirements is necessary. Hence, the more 
God's adopted children know about the dignity to 
which the Lord has raised them and what returns He 
expects from them, the better fitted shall they be to 
live worthily of their sublime vocation. 

The ordinary way for obtaining this knowledge is 
through study: not necessarily through professional 



RULE OF LIFE 209 

study; but all the same through study suited to each 
one's condition. 

One may study by reflection on what he already 
knows. This is meditation. He may acquire more 
and better knowledge by reading and listening to 
teachers. This is going to school. 

Wherefore, they who would live worthily of their 
calling, will do well by having fixed times for medi- 
tating on the truths of the faith, for reading instruc- 
tive and edifying books which treat of their religion. 
They should avail themselves of the opportunities for 
hearing sermons. 

The Bible, but especially the New Testament, is the 
best reading for all. " The Imitation of Christ " by 
Ven. a Kempis, cannot but be most helpful. " The 
Catechism of the Council of Trent " will be a revela- 
tion to many Catholics. It exhibits learnedly the 
beauties of their faith and the wonders of God's 
mercy. " The Faith of Our Fathers " is enlightening 
and has led many into the Church. The list of Cath- 
olic books of instruction and of exhortation is mar- 
velous for its range and variety. Of course, they are 
not " the best sellers," because they are not sensa- 
tional; but they are edifying and elevating. Any 
Catholic publishing house will furnish catalogues 
gratis on application. — Catholic newspapers keep the 
faithful in touch with the work of the Church. In 
every Catholic home there should be one or more of 
these, and also Catholic periodicals, when people can 
afford the price. But what family is so poor that two 



210 CHILDREN OF GOD 

pennies a week cannot be laid aside for " Our Sunday 
Visitor?" 

No sincere Catholic fails to avail himself of the 
opportunities to hear religious discourses. This is the 
divinely appointed method for acquiring the knowl- 
edge which is so necessary for the children of God: 
" For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, 
shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him, in 
Whom they have not believed? Or how shall they 
believe Him, of Whom they have not heard? And 
how shall they hear without a preacher? And how 
shall they preach unless they be sent, as it is written : 
' How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the 
gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of 
good things?'" Rom. X. 13-15. 

Zeal for the Father's Kingdom. A most effective 
aid towards living worthily the life of God's adopted 
children is being intensely and efficiently interested in 
the Father's kingdom on earth; for it is not likely 
that any one will be thus interested and at the same 
time be a disloyal citizen of the spiritual realm of 
God's children. — Neglect to live by the teaching and 
example of Jesus Christ is the worst and most criminal 
of all disloyalties. The Lord taught us such interest, 
when He instructed His followers to pray : " Our Fa- 
ther, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy 
Kingdom come ; Thy will be done on earth as it is in 
heaven." Interest in the kingdom of God is Zeal. 

Zeal may be practiced in many ways. The follow 
ing are within the ability of every one. 



RULE OF LIFE 211 

i° Frequent earnest prayer for growth in loyalty 
to the Father on the part of those who are already 
members of God's family of adopted children. 

2° The same kind of prayer for those who are not 
within the fold, that they too may obtain the grace 
above price, of being added to the family of God. 

3° To preach the gospel of the kingdom, not so 
much by word of mouth as by the example of a thor- 
oughly consistent Catholic life : " So let your light 
shine before men, that they may see your good 
works, and glorify your Father Who is in heaven." 
Matth. V. 1 6. 

4° To win strangers and enemies to God's family 
by gentle forbearance, at the same time laboring much 
in a spirit of charity to dispel mistaken notions about 
Catholic belief and practice. 

5° To encourage the Catholic press by subscribing 
to newspapers and magazines, in order to be in con- 
stant touch with the missionary effort of the Church, 
with her needs, and with the varied forms which oppo- 
sition to her and her work may take. 

6° To distribute Catholic literature among non- 
Catholics that they may be enlightened. Many who 
are not of the fold are excusable for having the most 
mistaken notions about us; because from childhood 
books which most shamefully misrepresent us, were 
the ones easily accessible to them. It should not be 
forgotten that English literature, published since the 
days of the Reformation, abounds in outrageous false- 
hoods about Catholics and about the Church. 



212 CHILDREN OF GOD 

7° To economize in order to be able to contribute 
generously to the many works of mercy and charity 
and zeal in which the Church is everlastingly engaged. 
A few pennies a week over and above what is given 
to the up-keep of one's parish, would go very far to- 
wards providing for the material needs of the Church 
and her work, if every one of the more than two hun- 
dred and ninety-two million Catholics made the offer- 
ing weekly. — Whilst the gifts of God must be given 
freely, the workers are not supposed to live on air or 
a profusion of sympathy, neither can their work be 
done by such aids only; more substantial assistance is 
needed : " Know you not, that they who work in the 
holy place, eat the things that are of the holy place; 
and they that serve the altar, partake with the altar? 
So also the Lord ordained that they who preach the 
gospel, should live by the gospel." I. Cor. IX. 13-14. 
And : " And if a brother or sister be naked, and want 
daily food : and one of you say to them : Go in peace, 
be ye warmed and filled; yet give them not those 
things that are necessary for the body, what shall it 
profit? So faith also, if it have not works, is dead 
in itself." Jas. II. 16-17. 

8° To foster brotherly love and the spirit of har- 
mony and unity among the faithful and with the shep- 
herds of the flock : " And not for them only do I pray, 
but for them also who through their word shall believe 
in Me; that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in 
Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in us; 



RULE OF LIFE 213 

that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me." 
John XVII. 20-21. 

These are methods of efficient interest in bringing 
about what the Lord taught us to pray for in these 
words: "Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on 
earth as it is in heaven." They are, furthermore, 
methods of zeal suited to the general conditions of life 
of God's adopted children. 

The foregoing explanations show that a "Rule of 
Life " is nothing more than a selection and arrange- 
ment of practices which are of such a nature that one 
cannot consistently make use of them without being 
goaded on thereby daily to conform his life more and 
more to the requirements of the Gospel of Jesus 
Christ. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

IS THE CHURCH A FAILURE? 

Many and most grievous evils torture humanity in 
our day. Only a short time ago the predominant oc- 
cupation of the nations of the world was the prosecu- 
tion of the most cruel war of history. The greatest 
ingenuity of science was pushed to the limit to dis- 
cover new and more efficient methods for maiming 
and destroying the best manhood of the world. And 
all this with what it entailed in the midst of the much 
boasted-of twentieth century civilization! 

Seeing these evils, not a few inquire whether or not 
Christianity, or at least the Church, is a failure. Un- 
fortunately, too often the answer insinuates failure, 
even when it does not openly affirm it. That there 
has been failure is evident enough. But who or what 
failed? 

In view of the fact that there are so many churches 
and so many Christianities, they, whose answer is un- 
friendly, should state which one they mean. There 
is only one Christianity of which God is the author; 
but there are many man-made churches which work 
on the assumption that God's work needed reforma- 
tion. Of which is failure affirmed? 

So too would it be well to explain what is meant 

214 



IS THE CHURCH A FAILURE? 215 

by failure. Writers on this subject may have in mind 
success under conditions entirely foreign to God's 
plans. God sincerely wishes not only the eternal sal- 
vation of all men, but also the amelioration of their 
life on earth. His Only Begotten Son died for all 
men without exception. He vested ample powers in 
His Church and furnished her with abundant re- 
sources to bring to every child of Adam the benefits 
of Christ's redemption, drawing neither color line nor 
any other line. But God set conditions. Success can 
be looked for only when these conditions are honor- 
ably fulfilled. When these conditions are neglected 
neither God's plan, nor His Christianity, nor His 
Church failed. The failure must be charged to those 
who neglect to conform to the divinely appointed 
conditions of success. God cares for those who do 
their part; but He passes by the dreamers of dreams. 

Christianity and the Church are divinely destined 
to transform mankind into the family of God's 
adopted children who live together in harmony and 
peace, loving all men as oneself for God's sake, sub- 
ject, however, to the following conditions: 

ist: That Christianity and the Church as offered 
by God be accepted by men. No divine promise has 
been made to attempted human substitutes for what 
God offered. 

2d: That men live by what Christianity and the 
Church stand for. 

3d: That men live up to the two foregoing con- 
ditions, of their own free choice and from sincere con- 



216 CHILDREN OF GOD 

viction; for it is not part of God's plan to force men 
to accept His benefits, by throttling or with a police- 
man's club or at the point of bayonets. Mistaken 
Christians have resorted to these methods, especially 
when governments became overactive in religious 
work; but these are not God's methods. 

The failure of Christianity and of the Church 
might, with a show of fair reasoning, be deduced from 
the evils which weigh so heavily on humanity in our 
day, if mankind had accepted God's Christianity and 
His Church, subject to the above conditions. But man- 
kind has not so accepted what the Lord offered. The 
following data prove this statement. 

a) Of the fifteen hundred and fifty-eight millions 
of persons making up the population of the world in 
1908, nine hundred and forty-three millions not only 
had not accepted the Christianity and Church offered 
by God, but their beliefs and practices were positively 
anti-Christian. 

b) Of the remaining six hundred and fifteen mil- 
lions of population, classed as Christian, three hun- 
dred and twenty millions accepted diverse man-planned 
Christianities and man-made church-systems; for their 
existence is based on the affirmation that God's Chris- 
tianity and God's Church went wrong. They claim 
that what brought them into existence was the neces- 
sity of restoring God's instituted system of revealed 
religion, to rectify the blunders in doctrine into which 
God's Church had lapsed, to humble the pretensions 
of Catholic Christianity which insists on one center of 



IS THE CHURCH A FAILURE? 217 

supreme religious authority for all Christians. These 
churches do not agree among themselves about the 
manner of the restoration, rectification, and humilia- 
tion. Hence, the variety of the man-made Christiani- 
ties and man-made Christian churches. 

c) The balance of the Christian population of the 
world is made up of Catholics. — They numbered in 
1908, according to Krose's figuring, 292,789,085. — 
They deny to men the right to tamper with the 
character of God's Christianity and to change the 
organism imparted by God to His Church. They 
maintain uncompromisingly that, to be of any good 
to mankind, God's Christianity and God's Church 
must necessarily be safeguarded against failure, 
against blundering in doctrine, against being split into 
a multitude of conflicting subdivisions having each its 
own local, or provincial, or national independent 
center of authority. They insist, in like manner un- 
compromisingly, that God's Christianity and God's 
Church must be ONE, HOLY, APOSTOLIC, and 
CATHOLIC. Catholics, and they alone among 
Christians, can trace their history back to the 
Apostles and through these to Jesus Christ, All 
other forms of Christianity are of a much later date. 
The churches organized to promulgate the distinctive 
gospel of each, were founded by men who were not 
of the number of Christ's chosen Apostles. — Until 
now, none of these familiar Catholic contentions has 
been disproven. Impartial non-Catholic scholars con- 
cede it. 



218 CHILDREN OF GOD 

The following statistics are interesting. H. A. 
Krose, in synoptical tables published in XIV. Vol., 
Catholic Encyclopedia, page 281, gives the population 
of the world in 1908 as one billion, five hundred fifty- 
eight millions, seven hundred four thousand, two hun- 
dred eighty-seven. 

This total is subdivided in a religious way as follows : 

CHRISTIANS: 

Catholics 292,787,085 

Protestants 186,055,624 

Greek and Russian Orthodox 127,541,718 

Schismatics 8,974,989 322,572,331 

615,359,416 
NON-CHRISTIANS: 

Jews 12,989,751 

Mohammedans 207,067,840 

Brahmins 210,100,000 

Buddhists 125,270,000 

Adherents of Ancestor Worship and Confucians . . . 240,000,000 

Taoists and Shintoists 49,000,000 

Fetish Worshippers and other Heathens 91,604,000 

Others and undenominational 7,313,280 

Total of non-Christians 943,344,871 

Total of Christians 615,359,416 

Total population 1,558,704,287 

These being the facts, who or what has failed? 
God's Christianity and God's Church, or mankind? 
Evidently mankind failed by refusing to accept what 
God offered. Failure to take the offered gift as of- 
fered, is responsible for the evils which oppress hu- 
manity. Men who decline to be God's adopted chil- 
dren on the Lord's conditions, invariably lapse into 
barbarism, if not downright savagery. 



IS THE CHURCH A FAILURE? 219 

Catholicism has not failed, but has been eminently 
successful. — When the Church began her work, 
the world was under the sway of most degrading 
idolatry ; but wherever she gained a footing sufficiently 
firm to enable her to work, she prevailed on men to 
worship only One God in Three Divine Persons, the 
Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. — When the 
barbarian hordes from the North and East overran 
the Empire of the Caesars, she not only christianized 
them, but civilized them too. — She found the bulk of 
mankind enslaved; but wherever she exercised con- 
trol, slavery disappeared, and this without the blood- 
shed of fratricidal war. — Woman was rated as chattel, 
to be bought and sold at the whim of man; the Church 
elevated her, surrounding her with protection and 
honor. — Child-life depended on the turning down of 
the father's thumb, but she induced men who ac- 
cepted her guidance, to respect and safeguard the 
life of even the unborn as much as the life of 
kings. — She impressed on the rich that they are God's 
almoners for the benefit of their less fortunate 
brethren. Where her spirit prevailed, there was no 
need for prison-like state farms and county poor- 
houses for the destitute, because she kept before the 
eyes of her members the sentence to be spoken on the 
last day: "I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat: 
. . . Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to 
one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me." — 
This same Church unceasingly fought, as she does 
today, the absolutism of governments and of rulers, 



220 CHILDREN OF GOD 

proclaiming the doctrine that kings, emperors, presi- 
dents, and democracies are as accountable to God as 
the least citizen, that they are as much obliged to 
accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ and govern accord- 
ingly as individuals are obliged to shape their conduct 
thereby, if they wish to escape God's vindictive justice 
overtaking the realm. — Today whatever there is in the 
world of the genuine spirit of Christ's Christianity, is 
due to her persevering loyalty to the faith committed 
to the saints in the beginning ; for she is the most un- 
compromising opponent of the modernism of unbelief, 
represented by materialism, animalism, agnosticism, 
higher criticism, and of the intellectual anarchy intro- 
duced into the world by the philosophy of Emmanuel 
Kant. — These accomplished facts do not look like 
failure. 

All this and more the Catholic Church accom- 
plished by loyalty to God's Christianity, in the 
face of obstacles put in her way by the jealousies of 
other churches, the machinations of secret organiza- 
tions, the misrepresentations of unfriendly historians, 
the false claims of unbelieving scientists, the sensa- 
tionalism of publicists of every type, and the unwar- 
ranted interference and open persecution of govern- 
ments in all ages and countries. Even non-Catholic 
truth-loving scholars are daily substantiating more and 
more the facts which warrant these statements. 

But some may ask : Is it not failure enough to have 
succeeded in converting to Christianity only such a 
small proportion of the human family? There are 



IS THE CHURCH A FAILURE? 221 

two answers to this question. The first is, to hold a 
membership of two hundred and ninety-two millions 
in the face of such tremendous opposition, is not 
failure but very tangible success. The greatness of 
the success is even more remarkable when one reflects 
on the very high standard of Christian life which the 
Catholic Church inculcates. No one, who knows any- 
thing about it, suspects Catholicism of being a religion 
which caters to easy-going Christianity or counte- 
nances Sunday-christianity. She impresses upon her 
members that their religion can benefit them extremely 
little, unless they live by the Gospel of Jesus Christ 
every day of the week and three hundred and sixty- 
five days of the year. 

The second answer deals with failure itself. Failure 
is inconceivable, unless one fails to accomplish what 
was undertaken or should have been undertaken. No 
one in his senses charges a man with failure, because 
he does not fly as eagles do. Now God's Christianity 
and God's Church never undertook to christianize men 
against their will, and never so much as considered 
it part of their commission to even think of imparting 
to the unwilling the benefits of the rehabilitation 
planned by God for mankind. It is not the Lord's 
will that anything of the kind should be undertaken; 
for having made man a free agent, God respects hu- 
man liberty even in its abuse: — but His day of set- 
tlement will come. 

These being palpable facts, how can any one so 
much as insinuate that God's Church is a failure? 



222 CHILDREN OF GOD 

The bulk of mankind has been and is unwilling to 
accept a good thing for its cure, offered to it during 
these last twenty centuries. Man-made plans for the 
uplift and salvation of humanity, have been failures: 
and they are worse failures today: but Christianity 
and the Church have not failed; for whatever hope 
there is for release from the evils which weigh so 
heavily on nations, can be realized only through 
the sincere acceptance of the gospel of adoptive 
divine sonship proclaimed by the Catholic Church. 
This gospel has as its second chief corner stone, the 
obligation to love all men as brothers as taught and 
exemplified by Christ Jesus; — not philanthropy only 
nor humanity only, but the charity of Christ: " Owe 
no man anything, but to love one another. For he 
that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law. For 
thou shalt not commit adultery: Thou shalt not kill: 
Thou shalt not steal : Thou shalt not bear false wit- 
ness: Thou shalt not covet: and if there be any other 
commandment, it is comprised in this word, Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself/' Rom. XIII. 8-9. 
It may be further asked : Why is such an immense 
majority of mankind unwilling to accept God's Chris- 
tianity as proclaimed by the Catholic Church? The 
answer is the same old sad story: men prefer their 
own gospels of salvation to God's Gospel; they prefer 
leaders of their own choice to Jesus Christ, the di- 
vinely appointed guide for all; they prefer religious 
organizations contrived by themselves to the Church 
established by God. 






IS THE CHURCH A FAILURE? 223 

The bulk of mankind prefers to the leadership of 
Christ that of Brahma, Confucius, Mohamet, Nes- 
torius, Arius, Photius, and Michael Cerularius, the 
Zwickau Prophets, Martin Luther, John Calvin, 
Henry VIIL, John Wesley, Emmanuel Kant, Chas. 
Darwin, Herbert Spencer, Thos. H. Huxley, Robt. 
Ingersoll, and the prophets of materialistic socialism 
and anarchy. 

The gospels of men are preferred to the Gospel of 
God: the ruinous gospel of justification by faith 
without good works to the Gospel of justification 
by faith with good works; — the gospel of the self- 
indulgence of the wide gate and broad road which 
lead to destruction to the Gospel of the self-denial 
of the narrow gate and straight way which lead to 
life; — the pagan gospel of the absolutism of govern- 
ments in all things, even over compliance with the re- 
quirements of God's revealed religion, to Christ's 
Gospel, " Render therefore to Caesar the things that 
are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's; " 
— the gospel of commercialism, to the Savior's Gospel 
of " seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God and 
His justice, and all these things shall be added unto 
you ; " — the gospel of mammon, of money-greed, from 
get-rich-quick schemes to the iniquitous profiteering 
out of the blood-money of the crudest of wars, to 
Jesus's Gospel of "Blessed are the poor in spirit;" 
and " No man can serve two masters. . . . You 
cannot serve God and mammon;" — the gospel of 
man's evolution from apes to the Gospel which pro* 



224* CHILDREN OF GOD 

claims the Lord to be the Creator; — the gospel of 
God-less education to Christ's Gospel of " Now this 
is eternal life; That they may know Thee, the only 
true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent." 
John XVII. 3; — the gospel of individual infallibility 
in religious matters to God's Gospel appointing His 
Church the supreme court to interpret for all men alike 
the revealed religion which He deigned to give to man- 
kind; — the gospel of the works of the flesh to the 
heavenly Gospel of the fruits of the spirit : " Now the 
works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, 
uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, idolatry, witchcrafts, 
enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, 
dissensions, sects, envies, murders, drunkenness, revel- 
ings, and such like. . . . But the fruit of the Spirit 
is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, 
longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, 
chastity. Against such there is no law. And they 
that are Christ's have crucified their flesh, with the 
vices and concupiscences." Gal. V. 19-24. 

That it would be so, was foretold by the Savior 
when He said : " Many are called, but few are 
chosen." Matth. XX. 16. " But yet the Son of man, 
when He cometh, shall He find, think you, faith on 
earth?" Luke XVIII. 8. " For there shall arise false 
christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs 
and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even 
the elect. Behold, I have told it to you, beforehand." 
Matth. XXIV. 24-25. 



CONCLUSION 

These pages exhibit the outlines of the sublime 
Catholic doctrine anent man's supernatural calling to 
be an adopted child of God. It is the belief which fur- 
nishes the sound foundation for the beautiful and 
comforting faith in the Fatherhood of God and the 
Brotherhood of all men. All men are necessarily 
creatures of God; but only they who have been born 
again of water and the Holy Ghost are also His 
adopted children; and of these only they are children 
of His fatherly love, whose life conforms to the image 
of His Only Begotten Son, Christ Jesus. 

Dear Reader, what are you? A creature of God 
only? Or, also an adopted child of God's love? If the 
former: Are you contented to remain such and noth- 
ing more? If you would be the latter also, seek the 
privilege in God's family of adopted children; for else- 
where it cannot be obtained. God's family of adopted 
children on earth is the Catholic Church. 



225 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Jan. 2006 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724) 779-21 1t 



